Sweden plans to send another major military package, including the Archer artillery system, to Ukraine as international partners are set to step up weapons support for Kyiv and as Moscow warns of escalation.
The three-part military support package for Ukraine will include “the first decision on starting deliveries of the artillery system Archer to Ukraine,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced during a press conference on Thursday. Stockholm will also send 50 CV-90 armored vehicles and NLAW portable anti-tank missiles, the government said.
The domestically developed Archer system has been high on the Ukrainian wish list for some time, but was not included in earlier aid packages. It is an artillery system composed of a fully automated howitzer mounted on an all-terrain vehicle that can be quickly moved and fired with great precision.
Defense Minister Pål Jonson said the government had asked the armed forces to come back with a recommendation on how many of the 48 Archers currently in storage could be sent.
The announcement comes as international allies are stepping up their military support to help Kyiv in its war against Russia, while Moscow has warned that the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine would raise the conflict to “a whole new level.”
Estonia has also announced its biggest package of heavy weapons for Ukraine so far, which would take the total military aid to Kyiv to 1 percent of the country’s GDP. The U.S. and German defense chiefs met in Berlin Thursday as Kyiv pushes for the West to finally send heavy tanks in anticipation of a possible spring offensive.
On Friday, Western military leaders will convene dozens of allies to pledge more weapons for Ukraine at the United States’ Ramstein air base in Germany, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz under pressure to send Ukraine heavy-duty Leopard 2 tanks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter that he was “sincerely grateful” for the new military package from Sweden.