Germany and Croatia plan to sign a framework agreement of intent that includes the purchase of 50 Leopard 2A8 tanks for the Croatian army. In return, Zagreb will transfer 30 M-84 tanks and 30 M-84 infantry fighting vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The cost of the transferred armored vehicles will count as a discount for Croatia when purchasing the Leopard tanks, as reported by the Croatian publication Jutarnji.
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Germany has requested Croatia to participate in the program for purchasing Leopard 2A8 tanks. The heads of the German and Croatian defense ministries, Boris Pistorius and Ivan Anušić, will sign the agreement for these tanks on Monday, October 28.
However, no further details have been revealed—neither the estimated cost of the program nor the timeline for Croatia to receive its 50 Leopard 2A8 tanks, nor when the promised 30 M-84 tanks and 30 M-84 infantry fighting vehicles will arrive for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It is known that Croatia currently has about 70 M-84 units in good technical condition.
Defense Express adds that the first mention of the possible transfer of tanks from Croatia to Ukraine through the circular exchange scheme from Berlin occurred in February 2023. However, the issue did not progress at that time, most likely because Germany could not formulate an attractive offer regarding armored vehicles for Croatia.
It should also be noted that the M-84 is a licensed copy of the Soviet T-72M1, produced by the now-defunct Yugoslavia in facilities that are now located in Croatia. By 1991, approximately 300 of these tanks had been manufactured.
There are reports that a certain number of Croatia's M-84 tanks have been upgraded to the Snajper standard, which included modernizing the fire control system and installing a more powerful engine than that of the original vehicle—the V-46TK engine with 1,000 horsepower.
Regarding the M-80A infantry fighting vehicles, they can be described as a Yugoslav copy of the Soviet BMP-2.
Earlier, our military received such vehicles; Slovenia delivered 35 units in 2022. As of early 2024, Croatia had 100 M-80A IFVs, according to The Military Balance 2024.
We also previously reported that Ukraine could receive 40 D-30 howitzers from Croatia, in addition to two An-32B aircraft.
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