UK’s Tank Transfer Meant to ‘Persuade’ EU States to Send More Weapons to Kiev
Union Jack flags are seen surrounding the Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, beside the Houses of Parliament in London, Friday, June 24, 2022.
Britain’s declaration that it plans to send Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev was timed to “coincide with the forthcoming ‘Ramstein’ format meeting,” embassy officials say.Britain’s effort to transfer Challenger 2 tanks to the Zelensky regime is meant to pressure other European governments to provide Ukrainian militants with deadlier weapons, the Russian Embassy in the UK says.“The initiative to ship modern samples of heavy armor to the Ukrainian military is meant to serve as precedent and to persuade other, less belligerent Western countries to follow suit and provide their own tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces,” the embassy wrote in a statement published Saturday.“The United Kingdom seems to be intent on reaffirming its status as top NATO Member State in terms of arming Kiev and escalating the conflict,” Russian officials wrote, adding that the proposed tank shipment was “yet more proof of the UK authorities’ disdain for the lives of ordinary Ukrainians.”Per the embassy, the announcement was timed to “coincide with the forthcoming “Ramstein” format meeting,” where the so-called ‘Ukraine Defense Contact Group’ is set to push for ramping up the supply of weapons into the war-torn territory on January 20.“Those among the British public who are growing weary of warfare and harbor a desire for peace, are in for a disappointment,” the embassy says, because “one really cannot put out a fire with petrol.”“Bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population,” the embassy added.The campaign to ramp up arms shipments “conforms to London’s objectives of prolonging the conflict,” they added, “hence the belligerent official rhetoric and the thorough disregard for the idea… [of] a negotiated settlement.”“In short, we are witnessing yet more proof of the UK authorities’ disdain for the lives of ordinary Ukrainians, as well as its ever-growing direct involvement in the conflict.”Regardless, the Challenger 2 tanks “will hardly help the Ukrainian military turn the tide in the field” and will immediately “become legitimate large-scale targets for the Russian forces,” the statement concluded.
