The Minister of Defense of Slovakia confirmed on his Twitter, on August 13, 2022, that Ukraine received the first four Zuzana-2 self-propelled artillery units from Slovakia.
Source: Minister of Defense of Slovakia Jaroslav Nad
“Slovakia helping to protect innocent Ukrainian lives! Happy to confirm, that first 4 Slovak Zuzana Howitzers are in the hands of Ukrainian armed forces ready to be deployed in defence against the Russian aggressors.”
#Slovakia helping to protect innocent Ukrainian lives! Happy to confirm, that first 4 🇸🇰 Zuzana #Howitzers are in the hands of #Ukrainian armed forces ready to be deployed in defence against the Russian aggressors. 🇸🇰🤝🇺🇦 #slavaukraini @oleksiireznikov #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/24vuYPLu5v
— Jaro Nad (@JaroNad) August 13, 2022
He added that four more howitzers would be delivered to Ukraine soon.
On June 2, Ukraine and Slovakia signed a contract for the supply of eight Zuzana 2 howitzers.
The Zuzana 2 is an 8×8 self-propelled gun based on the previous version of Zuzana: 155mm calibre, but with a shorter barrel. In 2018, Slovakia ordered 25 Zuzana 2 units, and the first artillery vehicles were delivered to the Slovak army in July 2021.
They were supposed to replace the previous version (16 Zuzana 1s), increasing the firepower of Slovak artillerymen. The transfer of some of them to Ukraine may affect the Slovak army’s procurement plan.