The Government Council of Finland on Thursday, on the proposal of the president, will decide whether to send German-made Leopard battle tanks as military aid to Ukraine, the Finnish state broadcaster Yle has reported.

As noted in the message, the issue will be considered by the government as a proposal of the Ministry of Defense of Finland.

In total, there are about 200 German-made Leopard battle tanks in Finland.

"Previously, it was assumed that Finland would participate in the project either by participating in the maintenance of equipment, or by providing several pieces of equipment … Defense Minister Mikko Savola announced at the end of January that Finland would take part in the Leopard project. However, their number cannot be large, because Finland has a long land border with Russia, and Leopards are also important for the defense of Finland," Yle notes.

According to the publication, the agreement in principle on sending Leopard tanks was adopted when the United Kingdom and the United States decided to donate their battle tanks to Ukraine.