European Pravda, Ukraine’s leading online news outlet, broke the news on July 7, 2023, that Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová, during her summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, revealed the signing of an exceptional deal. The contract orders the provision of 16 advanced Zuzana 2 155mm 8×8 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, marking a milestone in Slovak-Ukrainian defense cooperation.
This strategic announcement comes on the heels of Slovakia’s commitment to enhance Ukraine’s military arsenal, amid Russia’s invasion of the country. Previously, we highlighted Slovakia’s ambitious project to jointly produce a new self-propelled howitzer with the Ukrainian defense sector. This new artillery piece will be an evolution of the EVA, a Slovakian self-propelled howitzer built by Konstrukta Defence that was first introduced to the public at a 2015 defense exposition in Slovakia.
The Zuzana 2, a superior version of the original Zuzana 155 mm 45 caliber, is a brainchild of the renowned Slovak Company Konstrukta Defence. This upgraded iteration features a new 155mm 52 caliber gun and offers enhanced firing capabilities with a multiple-round simultaneous impact (MRSI) functionality.