Kyiv will receive “between 120 and 140” Western-made heavy tanks

Ukrainian retreat in Zaporizhia amid Russian threats to target NATO airfields

Polish Army soldiers at a military base training on German Leopard tanks. Reuters

An official in the Zaporizhia province, loyal to Moscow, stated that the Ukrainian forces had retreated to the rear defensive lines in the province, and at a time when a Russian expert declared that NATO airfields would be a legitimate target for Russia, if they were used in the conflict in Ukraine, Kyiv said that it would receive “what Between 120 and 140 »Western-made heavy tanks.

Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Presidential Council of the Military and Civil Administration of Zaporizhia Province, said that the Ukrainian army left the first line of defense in Zaporizhia Province, and retreated to pre-prepared positions.

"The Ukrainian forces left the first line of defense almost everywhere, and moved to ready positions on the second and third lines," he said in a statement to "Sputnik" agency, adding that the plans of the Ukrainian forces to launch an attack in Zaporizhia were "thwarted some time ago."

“Our army has liberated new lines,” said Rogov.

He took control of it and now had a tactical and strategic position on the Zaporizhia front.

Our army managed to liberate and control nine residential areas.

Rogov, who also leads the "We are with Russia" movement, indicated that 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during the attempt that took place at the contact lines in the Bologovsky region.

Two days ago, the Russian army managed to eliminate a group of Ukrainian militants near the village of Novodarovka.

For his part, the former head of the international treaties department in the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Yevgeny Buzhinsky, warned yesterday that "airports of (NATO) countries will be a legitimate target for Russia, in accordance with international law, if they are used as bases for Ukrainian aviation."

Buzhinsky said, in statements to “Sputnik”, “If Kyiv decides to use aviation, it can start from nearby NATO airports (in Romania or Poland, for example), but in this case, I am completely convinced that from the point of view of international law, these airports will become A legitimate target for destruction, and then let the Americans themselves think about how to respond to this, whether by going to war or telling the allies, this is your own business, deal with the Russians yourselves.

He suggested that "if the planes are transferred to Ukraine, (NATO) will provide its own airports in neighboring countries for their use," noting that this "is due to the Ukrainian military airports being out of work since the beginning of the special operation."

Ukraine is set to receive “between 120 and 140” Western-made heavy tanks, as confirmed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, a few days after the Westerners gave the green light to these shipments.

"In the first batch of contributions, the Ukrainian forces will receive between 120 and 140 modern Western tanks," Kuleba said in a video clip on Facebook, noting that these tanks are German Leopard 2, British Challenger 2, and American Abrams.

This is the first time that Kyiv has revealed the number of these tanks that its Western allies have pledged to provide it.

But the delivery process may take months, according to diplomatic sources, between repair and maintenance operations, in addition to training Ukrainian soldiers to use it.

Also, some countries, such as France, are reluctant at this stage to send their stocks of heavy tanks to Ukraine, for fear of weakening their military capabilities.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news