Germany's announcement that Leopard 2 tanks will be sent to Ukraine brings the war against Russia to a "new level of confrontation," a Russian ambassador said Wednesday.
In a statement published on the website of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev said that Germany's decision was "extremely dangerous" and "contradicts" statements from German politicians about the country's unwillingness to be drawn into the Ukraine conflict.
"Unfortunately, this happens over and over again," Nechaev said. "Once again, we are convinced that Germany, like its closest allies, is not interested in a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, it is set up for its permanent escalation and unlimited pumping of the Kyiv regime with more and more deadly weapons. 'Red lines' are a thing of the past."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that Germany would provide 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to Ukraine, and other countries also in possession of the German-made tanks would be permitted to send them to Ukraine as well. This was after Poland, which has been seeking to provide Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, officially requested Germany's consent on Tuesday to send them to the war-torn country.
The speaker of the lower house of Russia's parliament warned Sunday that nations providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons could cause a "global tragedy that would destroy their countries," according to the Associated Press. Russian state media has railed against Germany over its decision to deliver the tanks.
Ukraine is set to get another upgrade in its tank stocks after U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will send 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks.
The most modern tanks like the Leopard 2 and Abrams are several generations ahead of the Soviet-era Russian tanks that Ukraine has been using in the war up until now, David Silbey, associate professor of history at Cornell University and director of teaching and learning at Cornell in Washington, told Newsweek.
"This newer generation of tanks have much better armor and defensive systems, much more powerful main weapons, and much better sensor suites, which allows them to fire at much longer range," he said.
Silbey added that the "drawback" of the more modern tanks is "they are heavy and logistics-intensive, needing a lot of fuel and maintenance." This is less so the case for the Leopard tanks than it is for the Abrams, he said.
When asked for comment on the tanks being provided to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Newsweek: "NATO countries, including Germany, continue to increase the level of their involvement to the conflict. Potentially, it's very dangerous for the European continent."
Update 1/26/23, 9:25 a.m. ET: This story was updated with a statement from Dmitry Peskov.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more
