Croatia will give its tanks and IFVs to Ukraine, and in return will receive a discount on the purchase of new Leopard 2A8

Croatia will transfer 30 M-84 tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine, along with spare parts and ammunition from its warehouses, and in return will purchase 50 new Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany at a reduced price.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Croatia.

This agreement was reached during the meeting of the Defense Ministers of Croatia and Germany — Ivan Anushic and Boris Pistorius — in Berlin.

The ministers signed a Letter of Intent, according to which both countries will deliver tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from Croatia to Ukraine, and the financial resources that Croatia will receive from Germany for the first delivery of this equipment will be used for the purchase of new German Leopard 2A8s. The total price of the new Leopard 2A8s for Croatia will be reduced by the amount of weapons transferred to Ukraine.

What is known about M-84 and M-80

The M-84 is a third-generation main battle tank produced in Yugoslavia since 1984 based on the Soviet T-72. It is still in service in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kuwait, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia.

The tank is armed with a 125-mm smoothbore gun and is equipped with an automatic loader, which allows you to maintain the rate of fire at the level of 8 shots per minute.

In addition to the main armament, the M-84 also has a 7.62 mm twin machine gun and a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on the commanderʼs turret.

And the M-80 is a tracked infantry fighting vehicle of Yugoslav production, produced since the 1980s. It is armed with one 20 mm gun, a twin 7.62 mm machine gun and a twin launcher for guided anti-tank missiles. In 2022, Slovenia transferred 35 M80As to Ukraine.

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