MOSCOW, January 26 Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Forces Valery Zaluzhny said, that he had a telephone conversation with the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Mark Milley, and discussed with him mutual steps for the speedy adoption of new models of equipment for service.
«I maintain a steady dialogue with General Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. During today's telephone conversation, we discussed the announced package of military assistance to Ukraine and mutual steps for the speedy adoption of new types of equipment into service,» Zaluzhny wrote in his Telegram channel .
He also thanked Millie for «strong support and leadership.»
On Wednesday, the German government announced that it had decided to transfer German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. This was preceded by greatly increased pressure from representatives of government parties on Olaf Scholz's cabinet to make a positive decision on this issue as soon as possible.
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 intends to send eight M88 armored recovery vehicles to Kyiv to service tanks. As stated in the White House, the United States hopes that the supply of weapons to Ukraine will not only help Kyiv in the defense, but also allow it to seize lost territories, including Crimea.
Russia has previously sent a note to NATO countries 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.
The American tank battalion will not help Vladimir Zelensky seize Crimea or change the course of the Russian special operation, Kyiv will receive a harsh response to all attacks, Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma Committee on International Affairs, later said.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said earlier that the supply of American tanks to Ukraine would be a «blatant provocation» and warned that the armored vehicles would be destroyed by the Russian military.
The Kremlin noted that the statements of the Russian Ambassador to the United States about the inadmissibility of arms supplies to Ukraine reflect the position of the Kremlin and the president, and the supplies themselves do not bode well from the point of view of pan-European security and may mean bringing the conflict to a new qualitative level.
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