diff --git a/localization/tasks/timesyncd.yml b/localization/tasks/timesyncd.yml
index 384edb9aff755851b8f11fd09ded9d30099b047f..b16b84ccf5db8c5fafeeaf69776b02a8b673c3f5 100644
--- a/localization/tasks/timesyncd.yml
+++ b/localization/tasks/timesyncd.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@
   tags:
     - timesyncd
 
+- name: ensure we have timesyncd installed
+  apt:
+    name: systemd-timesyncd
+    state: present
+  when: ansible_distribution_major_version|int(default=99) >= 12
+  tags:
+    - timesyncd
+
 - name: ensure timesyncd is configured
   template:
     src: timesyncd.conf.j2