04.07.2023, Moscow.
Ukrainian militants are afraid to use foreign equipment, including Leopard tanks, because they are convinced that the Russian military is “hunting” Western equipment in Ukraine, a captured militant of the Ukrainian nationalist unit Kraken Andrey Prikhodko told RIA Novosti on July 4.
“I saw once how the mechanics got into the Leopard, they are obviously afraid to get in there for the reason that as soon as this equipment appears on the battlefield, everything attempts to hit it… including the large caliber. Tanks and planes, absolutely everything… Tanks don’t live long, neither do IFVs and absolutely everything,” Prikhodko said.
He added that he saw how “everything that could be used to hit a target” was fired at the moving vehicle.
On July 3, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that several dozen Leopard tanks from Germany and Denmark would be transferred to Ukraine within the next few weeks.
In May, Germany prepared a new aid package of €2.7 billion, which includes other weapons, like additional IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, he added.
On July 3, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russian troops destroyed 15 jets, three helicopters, and 920 armored vehicles, including 16 Leopard tanks, in a month in the South Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Donetsk regions.
In April 2022, Russia sent a note to NATO countries over arms deliveries to Ukraine. The country’s authorities have repeatedly condemned Ukraine’s “pumping” of Western weapons, as well as Western assistance in training Ukrainian military personnel.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
