Summarize in up to four sentences.: Zelenskyy says Ukraine is working with Sweden to produce 'cool vehicles' like CV90s: 'Just what is needed at the front'
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Sat, August 19, 2023 at 11:18 p.m. EDT·3 min read
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A photo taken on May 6, 2023 shows CV90 combat vehicles during the Aurora 23 military exercise at the Rinkaby firing range outside Kristianstad, Sweden. The Czech government on May 24, 2023 inked a USD 2.7-billion deal to buy tracked combat vehicles from Sweden's BAE Systems Hagglunds. Prague will receive 246 of the company's CV90s, which come with a turret-mounted cannon and can be considered a light tank or armoured personnel carrier. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo by JOHAN NILSSON/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
A photo taken on May 6, 2023 shows CV90 combat vehicles during the Aurora 23 military exercise at the Rinkaby firing range outside Kristianstad, Sweden.JOHAN NILSSON/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Sunday said he was partnering with Sweden to create new CV90s.

The armored combat vehicles, usually made in Sweden, will now also be created in Ukraine.

"Everything powerful that serves us now, we must localize and produce," Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said his country is partnering with Sweden to produce "cool" combat vehicles to aid in battle against Russian troops.

The Stridsfordon 90 or Combat Vehicle 90, also called CV90s, are light armored tanks, fitted on tracks and when exported are typically equipped with 30 mm or 35 mm cannons, according to the trade publication Military Today.

While exactly what model the Ukrainian military will produce is unclear, CV90s generally weigh over 22 tons and can travel just under 45 miles per hour at top speed on land. An amphibious tank with room for eight crew, they travel roughly 3 miles per hour on water.

"Today, we are working all day in Sweden, now we are finishing the day in Stockholm," Zelenskyy said in an early morning Sunday statement. "Weapons for our warriors are the main thing. There are results, and they are much needed results."

He added: "Armored vehicles – СV90, cool vehicles. Just what is needed at the front. Not only supply from partners – although we are accelerating it – but also production in Ukraine. Our production. New production."

Zelenskyy said there is a new agreement with Sweden regarding the production of СV90 in his country. Sweden previously pledged to transfer 90 existing infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, Insider reported, joining the US, Germany, and France, in sending Bradley, Marder, and AMX-10 RC armored vehicles to the front lines.

The new deal promises Sweden will provide military equipment "in the form of spare parts and emergency supplies" worth 1.1 billion Swedish Krona (or just over USD 91 million), and over $196 million worth of ammunition, mine-clearance equipment, and transport vehicles to Ukraine, according to a statement released Thursday by the country's Parliament.

"Everything powerful that serves us now, we must localize and produce," Zelenskyy said Sunday. "We will do so."

Representatives of the Ukraine and Sweden Ministries of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

In addition to the CV90s, Zelenskyy said Sweden was aiding in training Ukrainian gunners on long-range remote-powered Archer artillery systems and began pilot testing on Gripen fighters, which the Ukrainian President called "cool, modern Swedish combat aircraft."

The Ukrainian summer counteroffensive has been faced with "more or less double" the casualties of troops as fighters combat both the next generation of high-tech warfare, from air and sea drones to advanced electronic warfare systems, as well as old-school tactics, including land mines, booby traps, and tripwires.

In addition to the ongoing brutality on the battlefield, Zelenskyy has been battling critical delays with F-16 pilot training in Denmark and the Netherlands and corruption within his own ranks. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian President fired all of the leaders of his recruitment offices after 33 officials were found accepting bribes of up to $10,000 to help eligible men to dodge the draft.

Read the original article on Business Insider