Chinanews.com, January 26. In the past night, the situation in Russia and Ukraine has undergone a major change.

The United States and Germany changed their attitudes, disregarding the "red line" drawn by Russia, and announced to provide tanks to Ukraine.

　　Russia immediately lashed out, saying the move was extremely dangerous and would escalate the conflict to a "new level of confrontation."

　　Next, will the tank battle be imminent?

Where will the situation in Russia and Ukraine go?

Data map: "Leopard 2" tank.

"The Ukrainian army is preparing to launch a counteroffensive"

　　After weeks of pressure from Western allies, Germany and the United States successively announced the supply of tanks to Ukraine on the 25th.

　　German Chancellor Scholz said that Germany will further increase its military support to Ukraine and decided to provide Ukraine with the "Leopard 2" main battle tank, while clearing the way for other European countries to ship German-made tanks from their own stocks.

　　A spokesman for the German government said that as a first step, Germany will provide a company of "Leopard 2 A6" main battle tanks from the Bundeswehr inventory, a total of 14 vehicles.

Other European countries will also provide Ukraine with "Leopard 2" main battle tanks.

　　At the same time, the Biden administration also changed its argument that it had insisted on in the past few months, that is, "It is difficult for the Ukrainian army to meet the operation and maintenance requirements of the US-made M1 main battle tank", and instead announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with 31 M1 "Aib Ramsay main battle tank.

　　Biden pointed out that as spring approaches, the Ukrainian army is preparing to launch more counterattacks, which requires them to counter the evolving tactics and strategies of the Russian army in a short period of time.

Therefore, the Ukrainian army urgently needs to improve its maneuverability and its ability to stop the Russian army for a long time.

And this is why the United States provides armored combat vehicles and M1 tanks to Ukraine.

　　The M1 tank entered service in the 1980s and is the main battle tank of the US Army.

Biden said, "The M1 main battle tank is the most powerful tank in the world, and its operation and maintenance are also extremely complex. Therefore, we will also provide Ukraine with parts and equipment to carry out the work effectively, and will discuss logistics and maintenance as soon as possible. The problem is to train the Ukrainian army."

　　According to the US Department of Defense, the new round of military aid to Ukraine is as high as US$400 million.

According to the list, in addition to the M1 tanks, the assistance supplies include ammunition, tactical engineering vehicles, maintenance and supply vehicles, etc.

　　Ukraine immediately praised these two decisions as a "turning point", believing that this will revive the momentum of the Ukrainian army, and these tanks can also help prevent Russia's possible spring offensive.

　　Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "This is an important step on the road to victory. I just heard about these important and timely decisions in the phone call with Scholz, and I sincerely thank the Prime Minister and all our friends."

Data map: The military aid provided by the United States to Ukraine.

"NATO has nothing to fear"

　　CNN believes that sending tanks to Ukraine means that the West has taken a new step.

The move "shows NATO is fearless."

　　The report pointed out that unlike air defense systems or anti-tank missiles, these weapons are not defensive weapons.

They, like previous artillery and rocket systems, were designed to slam Russian forces during a ground offensive.

　　On the one hand, Western countries are not worried about violating Russia's "red lines".

The long-held belief that some NATO aid to Ukraine could anger the nuclear powers appears to be crumbling.

　　At present, in addition to the United States and Germany, France has stated that it will provide Ukraine with self-made AMX-10 RC light tanks.

Britain has promised to provide 14 British-made "Challenger 2" main battle tanks.

Poland plans to provide Ukraine with 14 German-made Leopard tanks.

　　Kirby, the strategic communication coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House, said bluntly that the United States does not care about Moscow's warning that the "red line" cannot be crossed. "We completely ignore what they say, and we don't care."

　　On the other hand, it shows that NATO members are less worried about being attacked by Russia in the near future, as they are handing over weapons that are badly needed in the event of such a conflict.

　　With the West offering a new round of aid to Ukraine, will a tank war be imminent?

　　In CNN's view, neither Russia nor Ukraine may feel the real impact of the spring offensive anytime soon.

After all, the U.S. promised Patriot missile defense about a month ago, but those weapons have yet to arrive.

　　The U.S. currently has no inventory, and the government wants to place an order with General Dynamics.

Bloomberg News reported that people close to the government said that the delivery period can be delayed for weeks or even months; not only that, it will take six months to train Ukrainian soldiers to use this main battle tank.

　　The US "Capitol Hill" also predicts that the M1 tank is unlikely to arrive in Ukraine at least until the fall, and the German Leopard tank may take several months to reach Ukraine.

Data map: On October 10, 2022, multiple explosions occurred in the center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

"Western tanks will be burned in Ukraine"

　　Russia has repeatedly warned that the US and the West have provided tanks, saying they will become legitimate targets of the Russian armed forces and will eventually be "burned" in Ukraine.

　　Russia's ambassador to Germany Nechayev said in a statement that Germany's decision was extremely dangerous and would escalate the conflict to a "new level of confrontation".

He also accused Germany and its Western partners of not being interested in a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Instead, they were allowing the conflict to escalate. "'Red lines' are a thing of the past."

　　Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the negotiations on military security and arms control in Vienna, also stated that weapons such as the "Leopard 2" tank can be equipped with armor-piercing ammunition containing uranium elements. If such ammunition manufactured by NATO is provided to Kyiv, "it will It is considered by the Russian side to use a nuclear dirty bomb against Russia and will lead to all (possible) consequences."

"We warn Western sponsors of the Kyiv conflict machine not to encourage nuclear provocation and nuclear intimidation."

　　Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, also slammed before, saying that the United States' plan to provide Ukraine with main battle tanks is a "blatant provocation" against Russia. .

　　Kremlin spokesman Peskov also said, "In terms of technology, this plan is quite a failure. It obviously overestimated (these weapons) the potential to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We have already said that these tanks will be like other tanks. All tanks were burned alike."

　　Talking about the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, Peskov commented, "Now we can only say that there is currently no prospect of entering the diplomatic path."