MOSCOW, Jan 27 Deliveries of Western tanks to Ukraine will not change the situation in favor of Kyiv, but bring the confrontation between the West and Russia to a new level, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
«Deliveries of tanks will not, of course, change the situation in favor of the Kyiv regime. But they bring Western countries to a new level of confrontation with our country, with our people,» Zakharova said at a briefing.
The German government announced on Wednesday that it had decided to transfer German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany intends to form two tank battalions. At the first stage, they plan to provide a company of 14 Leopard 2 type A6 from the stocks of the Bundeswehr.
Also on Wednesday, the White House confirmed its intention to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. According to the US authorities, it will take several months for the cars to be delivered. In addition, Washington will send eight M88 armored recovery vehicles to Kyiv to service tanks.
The Russian Federation has previously sent a note to all countries, including the United States, because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.