The government of Russia dismissed the potential on Tuesday of a shipment of dozens of American tanks, promised by left-wing President Joe Biden, to change the momentum of its invasion of Ukraine, suggesting they would “burn just like all the others.”
Top Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, following Biden’s announcement, that the plan to equip Ukraine with tanks in anticipation of the ground in the country thawing in spring was “disastrous.”
“I am certain that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea. The plan is disastrous in terms of technology,” Peskov said during his daily press briefing, according to Reuters. “But above all, it overestimates the potential it will add to the Ukrainian army.”
“These tanks burn just like all the others,” he concluded.
On Thursday, Peskov affirmed that Russia interprets military arms support to Ukraine as America and European allies of Kyiv participating “directly” in the war, suggesting Russia already sees itself as being in a proxy war with those countries.
“There have been repeated statements from the European capitals and from Washington that the sending of various weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine by no means signifies the involvement of these countries or the [North Atlantic] Alliance [NATO] in the hostilities in Ukraine,” Peskov was quoted as saying in the Russian news outlet Tass. “We strongly disagree with this. Moscow perceives everything that both the alliance and the capitals I mentioned have been doing as direct involvement in the conflict.”
The Russian government first invaded Ukraine nearly a decade ago, colonizing its Crimea region and fueling a war between Kyiv and separatists in the eastern Donbass region since 2014. Last year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced a “special operation” to oust the government of democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the ouster of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych – in 2014, in the prime of Zelensky’s comedic acting career – somehow invalidated the results of the 2019 presidential election, which Zelensky won. Putin and his regime also denounce Zelensky and the Ukrainian government as “Nazis.”
A Ukrainian tank with soldiers is seen through a car window close to the frontline near Kremenna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/LIBKOS)
Under Biden, Washington has prioritized aiding Ukraine in fighting off the Russian “special operation” to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. As of last week, according to the Pentagon, America has provided Ukraine over $27.4 billion in “security assistance,” largely weapons support, to the Zelensky government under Biden.
On Wednesday, Biden announced a new aid package to the country consisting of 31 Abrams M1 main battle tanks, a decision that elicited bipartisan praise in Washington.
“With spring approaching, Ukrainian forces are working to defend the territory they hold and preparing for additional counter offenses to liberate their land,” Biden said. “They need to be able to counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term. They need to improve their ability to maneuver and open terrain, and they need an enduring capability to deter and defend against Russian aggression over the long term.”
Biden’s gift to the Ukrainians arrives in coordination with Germany’s decision to send about 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to the country.
Russian leaders and pro-government analysts, including Peskov, have insisted the tanks will not improve Ukraine’s prospects in the war.
“There is nothing good in the deliveries and potential deliveries of these tanks but this should not be perceived as a disaster. They won’t change anything on the front line. Our resolve has been proven,” Konstantin Gavrilov, a senior Russian diplomat, said on Russian television on Thursday.
Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, left, speaks with Britain’s military officers during his visit to the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Wallace said his country would send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armoured vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as the squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Tass published an interview with an alleged “armor expert” who claimed that aging Soviet weapons could easily destroy M1 Abrams tanks, claiming they are difficult to repair in the war theater and “went up in flames” in Iraq.
Sputnik, a Russian government propaganda outlet, claimed the government was preparing a fleet of robots programmed to seek out and destroy both the Abrams and Leopard tanks.
The government of Ukraine reacted to the news of tank deliveries on Thursday by immediately requesting fighter jets.
“The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets. If we get them (Western fighter jets), the advantages on the battlefield will be just immense,” Defense Ministry adviser Yuriy Sak told Reuters. “It’s not just F-16s (U.S. multirole fighter jets): fourth generation aircraft, this is what we want.”
In a national address on Wednesday, Zelensky thanked Germany and America for its donations, but emphasized the need for more munitions.
“We have to unlock the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine, it is important for us to expand our cooperation in artillery, we have to achieve the supply of aircraft to Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “And this is a dream. And this is a task. An important task for all of us. The more defense support our heroes at the front receive from the world, the sooner Russia’s aggression will end and the more reliable the security guarantees for Ukraine and all our partners will be after the war.”