The Swiss military currently has 134 Leopard 2 tanks in service and a further 96 in storage. “Discussions on this issue are currently under way in parliament,” the VBS spokesman added. Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd replied in a letter on March 1 that a possible sale of part of the Swiss tank fleet would require the Swiss parliament formally declare the mothballed tanks to be out of service, the VBS said. Under its neutrality laws and a separate arms embargo, Switzerland is prohibited from sending weapons directly to Ukraine. “There would be no onward transfer of the battle tanks to Ukraine,” a Swiss Defence Ministry (VBS) spokesman told Reuters. The German politicians asked their Swiss counterpart to agree the sale, with assurances the Swiss tanks would not be transferred to Ukraine itself. The story was first reported by Swiss newspaper Blick. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Economics Minister Robert Habeck informed Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd about the project in a letter dated 23 February, the defence ministry told Reuters on Friday.
Germany, Poland, Portugal, Finland and Sweden are among countries sending Leopard tanks to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian attack, creating gaps in their own arsenals. Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to manufacturer Rheinmetall, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard 2 tanks, the Swiss government said on Friday (3 March), in a deal that could allow Germany and other countries to increase military aid to Ukraine.
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