Russia says tanks UK plans to send to Ukraine ‘will burn’ there

Russia says the tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine "will burn" there, warning the West against sending more advanced weapons to the ex-Soviet republic since such consignments will not "change" the outcome of the war.

Early last week, reports emerged that London was planning to send the British Army's Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. The reports were confirmed on Saturday, when British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pledged to send Kiev 14 such tanks and additional advanced artillery systems in the coming weeks.

According to Downing Street, the move showed "the UK's ambition to intensify support" of Ukraine in its war with Russia.

On Monday, the Kremlin responded to the move, saying the UK uses Ukraine as a tool to achieve what it said London's anti-Russian goals.

"They are using this country [Ukraine] as a tool to achieve their anti-Russian goals," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with reporters when asked about the British tanks, warning, “These tanks are burning and will burn just like the rest.”

UK set to supply Ukraine with Challenger 2 tanks, more artillery systems, PM says

The UK government is set to supply Ukraine with a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems.

He said the new arms and equipment from countries like Britain and Poland would not change the situation on the ground, but were an attempt to prolong the war, which, he said, would in the end bring "more troubles" on Ukraine.

Russia started what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine with the declared aim of "de-Nazifying" the country on February 24, 2022. Since then, the United States and Europe have imposed waves of unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow and have given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars' worth of weaponry, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles and communications systems. The Kremlin has time and again warned the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

The new development came after France also announced that it would send Ukraine its light AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles, which are described as a wheeled tank destroyer or light tank.

The US, for its part, has said it would consider supplying Ukraine with Bradley Fighting Vehicles, while Germany has pledged to send 40 Marder fighting vehicles infantry fighting vehicles within weeks as part of a new phase of support coordinated with Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during an interview aired late on the weekend that the war had gained positive momentum and that he hoped his troops would deliver more wins after Moscow said Russian forces took control of the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar following a fierce fighting.

Allies of Ukraine on January 20 are due to meet in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss providing it with more arms.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is currently under pressure to allow the export of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kiev.

NATO says Ukraine can expect more Western heavy weapons, despite Russia's warnings

The military alliance

Moscow: Russian missiles did not target residential building in Dnipro

Elsewhere in his remarks, Peskov denied Western media reports that Russian missiles had hit a residential complex in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

His comment came two days after Kiev claimed the apartment complex was hit during a major Russian missile attack that killed at least 40 people with 30 people still unaccounted for.

“The Russian Armed Forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure facilities. Attacks are made on military targets, either obvious or disguised,” Peskov said.

Ukraine claims the apartment complex has been hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile.

Peskov, in response, said the strike had been the result of Ukrainian “anti-aircraft counter-missiles” intercepting the Russian missile, saying “some representatives of the Ukrainian side” had reached the same conclusion.

Home to a million people, Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, which serves as a crucial supply hub for Ukrainian forces in the eastern region of Donbas.

Oleksiy Arestovych, who advises the Ukrainian president's office, said on Saturday evening that it looked as though the Russian missile had fallen onto the apartment building after being shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.

The comment sparked anger in Ukraine, prompting him to apologize. He then retracted his online apology, saying that he had made clear in his initial comments that his conclusion was only a preliminary theory.

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