Russia branded the move a ‘blatant provocation’, with Moscow officials warning the new Nato supplies will ‘burn like all the rest’, while one raging Putin mouthpiece called for the German parliament to be destroyed.
Around 30 M1 Abrams tanks will be sent from the US, while Berlin will initially supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks and permit other Nato nations to send their own. Russian storage facilities have around 10,200 tanks, while an estimated 3,300 have been deployed in Ukraine, with 1,640 destroyed.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s officials hailed the move as a ‘punching fist’ for democracy, while Russia had warned it would cause a ‘global catastrophe’ and escalate the war beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘I am certain that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea. The plan is disastrous in terms of technology,’ he said.
‘But above all, it overestimates the potential it will add to the Ukrainian army. These tanks burn just like all the others.’
Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Moscow Institute of the Middle East, told Waldman-LINE channel that nuclear tipped missiles should be used on the centre of German democracy.
He said: ‘German tanks with crosses on their armour will again march across Ukraine attacking Russian soldiers. I have a natural reaction to this – the Soviet Union bombed Berlin in 1941. And to me this is a signal that the Reichstag, or Bundestag, which now replaces the Reichstag, simply should not remain standing any longer. Flat, slightly radioactive, melted-down ground [will remain in its place].’
Meanwhile Putin’s favourite propagandist Vladimir Solovyov also ranted over the tank move which he plainly sees as a significant blow to Putin while also being proof in Russian eyes that Germany has directly joined the war.
‘It’s time to send a clear, resolute message that we now consider Germany a direct party to the conflict, rekindling memories of WW2. German tanks appearing will definitely mean we consider German territory, military bases and other sites as legitimate targets. NATO wants to fight in this cunning way, pretending that it’s not fighting.’
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