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Russia’s top brass blasts NATO’s tank biathlon as competition with ‘anti-Russian context’

Ukrainian tank crews were among the eight teams that took part in the NATO tank warfare competitions, the Russian general said

MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/. NATO’s tank biathlon competition has a clear anti-Russian context, Russia’s Army Combat Training Directorate Chief Major-General Roman Binyukov said on Monday.

NATO member states reject invitations to take part in the tank biathlon of the International Army Games, the Russian general said.

"They do not come to our competition and do not invite the Russian team to their contest. However, the international success of our tank biathlon has forced our NATO colleagues to hold a similar competition at one of the Bundeswehr training ranges," the Russian Defense Ministry quoted Binyukov as saying.

"Compared to the Russian competition, the conditions of the NATO contest have nothing to do with competitiveness and the sports spirt. At the same time, the anti-Russian context is felt: even during the accomplishment of gunnery tasks, NATO crews practice firing against old Soviet hardware rather than against targets," the Russian general said.

According to Binyukov, during the tank biathlon at the International Army Games, "the armor is used at maximal regimes and the victory is achieved by the quickness of making decisions, the speed and the accuracy of fire."

"This is also achieved through annual improvements by Russian designers of the T-72B3M tank used by tank crewmen from Russia," the general said.

Ukrainian tanks

Ukrainian tank crews were among the eight teams that took part in the NATO tank warfare competitions, the Russian general said.

According to Binyukov, "one of the Ukrainian tankmen who commented for journalists on the Ukrainian team’s poor performance in the NATO competition, admitted that the team’s last place could be explained by the low quality of the manufacture and the unsatisfactory combat capabilities of Ukrainian tanks, and also by the unsatisfactory level of the tank crews’ training.".