Slovakia rejects plan to give old tanks to Ukraine in return for new German tanks

Slovakia has put the brakes on a plan according to which the country would receive 15 German-made Leopard-2A4 tanks in return for 30 T-72 tanks it would give to Ukraine, viewing the number of the tanks offered by Berlin as insufficient, TASR has learnt from a report by news outlet Business Insider. The German Chancellor's Office first reported on the plan two months ago. However, the spokeswoman of the Slovak Defence Ministry told Business Insider on Monday that other countries, including the Czech Republic, are receiving more pieces of military equipment in similar exchanges than Germany is offering to Slovakia. In related news, the Defence Ministry has denied a report that it's considering cancelling its order of F-16 fighter jets from US contractor Lockheed Martin in order to acquire the more modern F-35s. Slovakia concluded the contract for purchasing a total of fourteen US-made F-16 fighter jets in late 2018. The first of these planes should be delivered to the country in 2024, approximately a year later than originally expected.