Foreign Ministry: The United States decided to supply tanks to Kyiv in order to "level the NATO line"

Foreign Ministry: The United States decided to supply tanks to Kyiv in order to "level the NATO line"



Washington decided to supply Abrams tanks to Kyiv in order to “level the NATO line”, Washington’s statements that these actions are not an escalation are a denial of the obvious, declared RIA Novosti Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov.

On January 25, the United States announced the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine - this is the equivalent of "one Ukrainian tank battalion." According to Ryabkov, such a decision is “an extremely destructive step” on the part of Washington, including from the point of view of “an attempt to implement a pronounced escalation scenario in Ukraine.”

Officials from the United States, as the deputy foreign minister said, "paradoxically argue" that the supply of new weapons to Kyiv is not an escalation, and there have been many "direct quotes from Orwell" in recent statements by NATO and US representatives.

“Peace is war” is literally what is said every day from high stands and high offices in the West... So now, after the decision to send Abrams tanks in significant numbers, arguments begin that this is not an escalation. Denial of the obvious,” Ryabkov said.

According to him, the US authorities decided to supply Abrams with the aim of "again trimming the NATO rank, their system, to carry out the calculation" on the first, second "".

The US administration had previously specified that the delivery of military equipment would take months. Later, US President Joe Biden announced that the volume of the new military aid package would be $400 million.

The Wall Street Journal before wrotethat sending a "significant" number of tanks could be part of a broader diplomatic deal with Berlin, which in turn would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and approve their shipment from the arsenals of other Western countries.

Against the background of reports about the transfer of tanks to Kyiv, the Kremlin pointed to the increased direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict in Ukraine. Prior to this, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the transfer of weapons would not fundamentally change the situation, but would “add problems” for Ukraine. The actions of the US administration were also criticized by former President Donald Trump. He announced the risk of a nuclear conflict due to the sending of military equipment to Ukraine.

Permanent Representative of the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric commented the decision to supply tanks to Ukraine, stating that recent developments do not lead to a settlement of the conflict.



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