Russia warns of an “extremely dangerous” escalation if NATO deploys heavy weapons like main battle tanks and long-range missile systems to Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s warning statement on Thursday came ahead of a key donor meeting as Western countries consider sending stronger military equipment to Ukraine, with Russian forces stepping up attacks to secure the territory.
Germany in particular is facing increasing pressure to supply Kyiv with tanks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed frustration at not being able to get enough heavy weapons.
Since the UK announced last week it would be sending Challenger 2 tanks, Berlin has been facing increasing pressure to supply its Leopard 2 tanks, or at least clear the way for others – like Poland – to use the German-made gear from their own stocks to deliver.
The Kremlin urged the West not to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons capable of attacking Russian forces and Russian territory.
“It’s potentially extremely dangerous. It will mean taking the conflict to a whole new level, which of course doesn’t bode well from a global and pan-European security perspective,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“We will destroy it”
On Friday, the United States will gather its allies at its air base in Ramstein, Germany, for a new round of talks on military support to Ukraine.
The coordination meeting will be hosted by US Defense Chief Lloyd Austin. He said: “We will renew our joint commitment to support Ukraine’s self-defense in the long term” – but did not mention any specific new equipment.
Western partners fear Ukraine could use long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory or Crimea – a peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014 – although Kyiv has promised not to do so.
Peskov spoke after Moscow’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said Russia will retaliate if Ukraine uses western-supplied weapons to attack Russia or the Crimean peninsula.
“It should be clear to everyone: no matter what weapons the Americans or NATO supply to the Zelenskyi regime, we will destroy them,” Antonov said. “It’s just impossible to defeat Russia.”
American rhetoric about Ukraine is becoming “more belligerent,” he added.
By insisting that Crimea is part of Ukraine and that Kyiv can use US weapons to protect its territory, Washington “essentially pushes the Kiev regime to commit terrorist attacks in Russia,” Antonov said.
Separately, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that continued Western support for Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.
“A nuclear power that loses in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war,” Medvedev wrote. “Nuclear powers have not lost major conflicts on which their fate depends.”
Peskov said Medvedev’s comments were consistent with Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
“We can manage risks”
The supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe said the potential risk of an escalation in the Ukraine war from deliveries of western main battle tanks was manageable.
“Can we manage risk? Yes absolutely. I think we can manage risks in general,” US General Christopher Cavoli said in Brussels on Thursday after a NATO Military Committee meeting.
Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, underscored the importance of supplying Ukraine with tanks.
“The Russians fight with tanks, so the Ukrainians need tanks too,” he said. “It is important for Ukrainians to be able to keep up with what the enemy has and in view of their ambition to reclaim their own territory.”
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhaylo Podolyak said it was “time to stop shaking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and take the last step”.
“Ukraine needs tanks, tanks – the key to ending the war properly,” Podolyak said on Twitter.
Earlier this month, the United States pledged to send its powerful Bradley armored fighting vehicles, while France offered its highly mobile AMX-10 RCs – offensive weapons that Western nations had previously considered taboo.
Military support for Ukraine will be discussed in Ramstein by representatives of about 50 countries, including all 30 NATO members.
Ukraine’s foreign and defense ministers said the promised British tanks, while welcome, were “insufficient to achieve operational goals”.
“We guarantee that we will use these weapons responsibly and exclusively to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders,” Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov said in a statement, appealing to Germany and other countries using the Leopard 2 to ” join the international tank coalition.