“Promise Nothing Good”
Kremlin warns Germany against tank deliveries
1/24/2023 12:04 p.m
According to the Kremlin, German-Russian relations are already at rock bottom. Moscow criticizes western arms deliveries to Ukraine as an escalation. If Germany were to supply tanks, it would also leave “inevitable traces”.
The Kremlin has warned that German-Russian relations could deteriorate further if the German government were to have “Leopard” main battle tanks delivered to Ukraine. “Such deliveries do not bode well for the future of relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax. They would leave inevitable traces. The relationship is already at a certain low point. There is currently no dialogue either with Berlin or with other EU and NATO countries, said Peskow.
In the past, Moscow had repeatedly criticized Western arms deliveries to Ukraine as an escalation in the war. Last week, however, the spokesman for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin also said that even Western battle tanks could not prevent Russia from achieving its war goals. In his view, they would only prolong the suffering of civilians.
Against the background of a possible large-scale Russian offensive, pressure is growing within NATO on Berlin to release the deliveries of the “Leopard” tanks. The “Leopard” is the most widely used main battle tank in the armed forces of Europe. It is considered at least partially superior to Russian tanks due to its combination of firepower, armor and mobility.
Meanwhile, Poland has officially applied to the federal government to be able to deliver its own “Leopard” 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Germany has already received the request, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter. He also called on Berlin to “join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.” German government circles confirmed the official request.