RF downplays threat of supplying tanks to Ukraine – ISW

The Kremlin and Russian propaganda are trying to downplay the importance of supplying Western tanks to Ukraine, as they are a real threat to Russia's plans.

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Thus, press secretary of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said on January 25 that the West's supply of tanks to Ukraine is "a complete failure from the point of view of technological aspects" and that there is "a clear overestimation of the potential that these tanks will add to the Armed Forces."

Some Russian bloggers likely tried to reassure their domestic audience by saying that these systems did not pose a serious threat and that earlier Western systems such as HIMARS posed a more serious threat, the analysts wrote.

The Kremlin and Russian bloggers previously assessed the West's supply of Patriot missile defense systems as a major escalation between Russia and the West.

"The fact that the Kremlin and Russian bloggers did not consider the transfer of armored vehicles that could actually help Ukrainian counteroffensive operations as an escalation suggests that the Kremlin and the Russian information space continue to choose which systems to consider as an escalation," the report said.

The Kremlin and Russian bloggers appear to be more concerned in this case with reducing potential fears of fallout than fueling escalation in the West, the experts concluded.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on January 25, Germany announced the provision of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Also, on January 25, U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced that the United States is transferring 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Back on January 25, the Spanish authorities announced their readiness to hand over German tanks to Ukraine.

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