The move by the United States and Germany to provide Ukraine with battle tanks is being met with mixed reactions. While it has been met with enthusiasm in Washington, Berlin, and Kyiv, Moscow has initially played it down and later launched a new barrage of attacks.
The Kremlin had previously warned that such tank shipments would be a potential escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and strongly denounced the move. However, they insist that the new weapons won’t stop Russia from accomplishing its goals in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “The potential it gives to the Ukrainian armed forces is clearly exaggerated. Those tanks will burn just like any others.”
In addition to this, some Russian experts warned that the tanks would not be available for months due to shipment and could only be supplied in limited quantities.
As part of a series of strikes, Russia launched missiles and self-exploding drones across Ukraine on Thursday – many of which targeted power plants and other critical infrastructure. Such attacks are meticulously planned, according to Russian military bloggers and commentators, so the latest barrage was likely planned ahead of time without necessarily being connected to the tank shipping announcement.
While Western arms supplies irritate Russia, it cannot stop them, according to Yohann Michel of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
He said, “It’s a problem that they can’t necessarily address,” pointing out that earlier U.S. and allied decisions to supply Ukraine with air defense weapons could have been even more serious for Russia.
Russia’s diplomats, military leaders, and President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly warned the West against supplying long-range weapons capable of striking deep inside the country, claiming it could mark a red line and trigger a massive counterattack. While other weapons like tanks and certain air defense systems have drawn warnings from Russian officials, the wording has been deliberately vague.
