Russian ambassador to the United States promised to destroy all Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine

Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said that Russia would destroy all American Abrams tanks that the United States would supply to Ukraine, as well as all other Western weapons before that.

Antonov was quoted by the press service of the Russian embassy as saying, “If it is decided to transfer the M1 Abrams to Kyiv, the American tanks will without a doubt be destroyed like all other samples of NATO military equipment.”

According to him, Washington is trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia, and the latest delivery of military equipment gives the “green light” to “invade Crimea.” He said that the United States is waging a “proxy war” against Russia.

It would be impossible to justify the supply of tanks with arguments about “defensive weapons”, Antonov warned. “This would be another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation. No one should have any illusions about who is the real aggressor in the current conflict,” the ambassador concluded.

US President Joe Biden may announce the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine Already January 25, writes Reuters With reference to US administration officials. According to Politico, we can talk about sending around 30 tanks.

Biden took this decision to push Germany to transfer 2 Leopard tanks to Kyiv. After that, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to send a tank company to Ukraine, consisting of 14 vehicles, writes Spiegel. According to the publication, we are talking about tank modification Leopard 2A6, which will come from the stocks of the Bundeswehr.

Prior to this, Russia has repeatedly called the supply of heavy tanks to Ukraine one of the “red lines”, the crossing of which could lead to an escalation of the conflict. At the end of last year, Valery Zaluzny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that they needed 300 tanks for a large-scale offensive.

More important for Ukraine is the supply of German Leopard 2 tanks, whose total fleet in Europe exceeds 2,000 units. In addition to Germany, Norway (8 vehicles) and Poland (14 vehicles) are ready to supply 2 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Netherlands is also considering buying 18 tanks to send to Ukraine. ABC reported that Kyiv is expected to receive about a hundred tanks from 12 countries, including Spain, Finland and Denmark. news High-ranking Ukrainian official.