Russia "has something to answer" to the supply of NATO tanks to Ukraine, "and the use of armored vehicles will not end the matter."
This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, February 2, at a gala concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi troops by the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad.
"Unbelievable - unbelievable, but true: we are again threatened with German Leopard tanks, on board of which there are crosses, and again they are going to fight with Russia on the soil of Ukraine with the hands of Hitler's last descendants, the hands of Bandera," Putin said.
The President of the Russian Federation stressed that those who "expect to win a victory over Russia on the battlefield" and draw European countries, including Germany, "into a new war with Russia" should understand that modern Russia "will be completely different."
"We do not send our tanks to their borders, but we have something to answer, and the use of armored vehicles will not end. Everyone should understand this," Putin said.
He stressed that the Russian people "with mother's milk absorbed the traditions of the generation of winners," and stressed that this "distinguishes Russia, makes us strong, confident in ourselves, in our rightness and in our victory."
On January 25, US President Joe Biden announced the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. According to him, the supply of military equipment "will help Ukraine seize the lost territories, including Crimea." Earlier in the day, the German government confirmed plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Prior to this, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would send tanks to Ukraine only if the United States did the same, while earlier in Berlin noted , that the military past of Germany also influences the decision on deliveries.
The Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) became one of the largest during the Great Patriotic War. More than 2.1 million people participated in the battles at its various stages on both sides. The defeat of the enemy grouping in the Stalingrad direction radically changed the course of the war and became a harbinger of the victory of the Red Army over the German invaders.
