MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. The Kremlin sees that the involvement of the United States and the countries of the collective West in the conflict in Ukraine has been growing, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Thursday.

"There have been repeated statements from the European capitals and from Washington that the sending of various weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine by no means signifies the involvement of these countries or the [North Atlantic] Alliance in the hostilities in Ukraine. We strongly disagree with this. Moscow perceives everything that both the alliance and the capitals I mentioned have been doing as direct involvement in the conflict. We see that it is growing," Peskov said.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden claimed that Washington's decision to supply tanks to Ukraine was not about a fight against Russia, but a fight for "freedom." In addition, Biden alleged that the supply of tanks did not imply a threat to Russia.

In response to an elaborative question whether the Kremlin believed in the sincerity of these words, Peskov replied: "Please, use what I’ve just said as a benchmark."

Earlier, it was reported that Germany and the United States decided to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks. According to various media resources, some European countries also intend to join these deliveries.