Analysis
No surprises on tanks – but what the Kremlin says publicly and what Putin thinks privately are two very different things
The Russians have had to watch as Western commitments of kit for Ukraine grows. Although Moscow has more of its old-school tanks, they won’t be as good.
Diana Magnay
Moscow correspondent @DiMagnaySky
Thursday 26 January 2023 12:46, UK
Zelenskyy calls Putin a 'nobody' in a Sky News interview. Pic: Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin/Reuters
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Vladimir Putin has been described as a ‘nobody’ by the Ukrainian president
Why you can trust Sky News
There are no real surprises from the Kremlin in terms of its reaction to the tank announcements.
Russia has long claimed that it is fighting a defensive war against NATO and that Western weapons deliveries are proof of that.
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Today, the Kremlin spokesman said he saw these latest announcements as more evidence of Washington and European capitals’ “direct involvement in the conflict”.
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He also dismissed the Ukrainian president’s comments that Vladimir Putin was a “nobody” whom he had no interest in speaking with.
“I don’t think an answer is necessary,” Dmitry Peskov replied to a question from Sky News.
“He himself has long ceased to be a possible opponent for President Putin,” Mr Peskov said, adding what he described as Mr Zelenskyy’s failures to fulfil his election promises in terms of resolving the situation in Donbas and fulfilling the Minsk agreements.
“He was preparing for war,” he said.
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Russia has old-school tanks but they won’t be as good
What the Kremlin says publicly and what Mr Putin and his defence minister think privately are two very different things.
Relatively modern, well-equipped Western battle tanks, when they do finally arrive, will give Ukrainian tank battalions better protection and better aim than anything the Russians can field.
The Russians may still have more of their old-school T72 tanks, and more armoured vehicles in general, but they won’t be as good.
The Russians have had to watch as Western commitments of kit for Ukraine have grown from helmets, in Germany’s case, to battle tanks eleven months on.
They know that there will be a lag in delivery, even if Germany’s defence minister said he expected the country’s Leopard 2 tanks to be in situ by the end of March at the latest.
The question is whether the Russians have the capacity to make good on that lead time.
