In the eyes of the Russian leadership, the planned deliveries of tanks from the West are "highly destructive". The Kremlin blames the arms deliveries for not negotiating peace with Ukraine or "their puppeteers."
The Russian leadership has declared peace negotiations to be hopeless because of the planned Western tank deliveries to Ukraine. "Under the current conditions, since Washington has announced its decision to supply tanks and its vassals (...) are competing over who will supply Ukraine with how much armor, it is pointless to talk to the Ukrainian Nazis or their puppeteers," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state news agency Ria Novosti.
Moscow repeatedly claims that National Socialists are in power in Kyiv, and that they are being directed from abroad. The diplomat criticized the planned deliveries of tanks from the USA, Great Britain, Germany and other countries as a "highly destructive step" with the aim of further escalation in Ukraine.
He blamed the USA and NATO for the war that had lasted for more than eleven months. Ryabkov justified the attack on Ukraine with "legitimate security interests" and an alleged oppression of the Russian population there.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine last week after weeks of hesitation and after intensive pressure from Poland, among other things. In addition, Berlin approved the export of German-made Leopard tanks by other countries.
Germany's approval paved the way for further tank commitments: several European countries such as Poland and Norway immediately announced that they would provide Ukraine with their own German-made Leopard tanks. The USA also followed suit with 31 M1 Abrams tanks.
