Russia has taken its war against Ukraine to “another stage” by carrying out indiscriminate attacks on civilian and non-military targets. This was stated by Stefano Sannino, Secretary General of the European External Action Service, to the Associated Press.
At a news conference in Tokyo as part of his Asia-Pacific tour, he criticized Moscow for pushing Germany and the United States to send advanced tanks to Ukraine.
Sannino defended Berlin and Washington over the supply of military equipment to Ukraine and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging war against NATO and the West.
In his words Putin has “moved from the concept of a special operation to the current concept of war against NATO and the West.”
He emphasized that the German and German and American supplies of tanks were intended to help the Ukrainians defend themselves in the war, not to make them aggressors.
“I think this latest development in terms of arms supplies is just a development of the situation and the way Russia began to shift the war to a different stageSannino noted.
The EU does not move the war to another stage, but “simply provides an opportunity to save lives and allows Ukrainians to defend themselves from these barbaric attacks,” he stressed.
On Wednesday Germany and the US announced that they will send modern battle tanks to Ukraine, offering it an “armoured strike force” to break the country’s stalemate on the battlefield as the Russian invasion enters its 12th month.
The move marked the first stage of a coordinated Western effort to provide dozens of heavy weapons that the Ukrainian military says will enable to launch a counteroffensive, will reduce casualties and help replenish dwindling ammunition supplies.
US President Joe Biden said that his country will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks and rejected Washington’s earlier arguments that they were too difficult for the Ukrainian military to operate and maintain.
After the decision of the US and Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from their own stocks.
