Sending British Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv will not help turn the tide, but will only lead to a worsening of the conflict in Ukraine. This is stated in the comments of the Russian Embassy in London, published on Saturday, January 14, on the website of the diplomatic mission.
“The dispatch of tanks will by no means bring the end of hostilities closer, but will contribute to their toughening, provoking more and more victims, including among the civilian population,” the statement emphasizes.
It also notes that such actions are fully consistent with London’s line of dragging out the confrontation, which is confirmed both by ignoring the idea of a negotiated settlement repeatedly voiced by the Russian Federation, and by the belligerent rhetoric of the British authorities.
Earlier on Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, promised to transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, as well as new artillery systems.
Prior to this, on January 12, the Ukrainian ambassador in London, Vadim Prystaiko, asked the Western allies for thousands of tanks, stressing that Kyiv would like to receive such equipment. It was about the British Challenger, American Abrams and German Leopard.
In the same month, it became known that Poland would transfer a company of Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition. The decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine will also be made by the German government.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the supply of arms. Thus, on January 11, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that the supply of Western tanks would not help Ukraine in resolving the conflict. He emphasized that “all this iron in any case will soon become rusty scrap metal and will not save the artificial country falling apart.”
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was announced in February against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the shelling of Ukrainian troops. Back in April, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note to all NATO countries because of the supply of weapons to Kyiv.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
