MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russian forces have destroyed 747 Ukrainian tanks and nearly 2,300 armored vehicles of various types since Kiev launched its counteroffensive in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference.

"Since the start of the so-called counteroffensive, we have destroyed 747 tanks - this is data from last night - and almost 2,300 armored vehicles. This is what demilitarization is all about," Putin pointed out.

He clarified that Western countries had sent about 400 tanks to Ukraine. According to the Russian president, "the Westerners" provided Kiev with as many tanks as they had promised. The head of state also noted that certain parameters for demilitarization had been agreed on during the talks in Istanbul in early 2022 between Moscow and Kiev, but that the agreements reached then had later been "flushed down the drain."