Kiev now has less of its own equipment to use, Putin’s spokesman said
A destroyed Ukrainian tank near Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), April 17, 2023. © Sergey Averin / Sputnik
The Russian Army largely knocked out Ukraine’s domestically produced weapon systems, forcing the country to increasingly rely of Western arms, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“Ukraine was highly militarized when [the conflict] began,” Peskov told RT Arabic on Saturday. “And, as [President Vladimir] Putin said yesterday, one of the goals was demilitarization of Ukraine. De facto this goal has been achieved.”
Peskov argued that Ukraine has been “using its own weapons less and less,” and has gradually switched to using weapons supplied by the US-led NATO bloc.
The spokesman added that military aid to Kiev makes Western countries “parties to the conflict,” and makes the situation in Europe “more tense and unpredictable.” All this motivates Russia to take “more decisive measures to ensure the safety of the people in Donbass and the safety of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said.
Putin listed “demilitarization” of Ukraine as one of the objectives of the military operation Moscow launched in the neighboring state in February 2022.
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The bulk of Ukraine’s arsenal initially consisted of Soviet-era weapon systems and their upgraded versions. However, the Western countries have been increasingly supplying Kiev with modern equipment, including heavy tanks, anti-armor and anti-air missiles, drones, multiple rocket launchers, and howitzers.
Earlier this month, Kiev lost its first German-made Leopard 2 tanks and US-made M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles when Ukrainian troops launched the long-anticipated counteroffensive. The assault had failed to break through the Russian defenses, Moscow said.
