MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Since Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began in February 2022, NATO members delivered around 800 tanks, 270 multiple-launch rocket systems, 130 planes and helicopters and over 30,000 drones to the armed forces of Ukraine, said Igor Kostyukov, the chief of the Main Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff.

In an article for the Russian Defense Ministry’s ‘Military Thought’ journal, Kostyukov says that NATO’s assistance to Ukraine, aimed at protracting the conflict and dealing maximum damage to Russia, remains the main military threat for Russia, coming from NATO. The alliance’s members and partners have already allocated than $132 billion for the purpose, including over $63 billion spent by the United States.

"Supplies of weapons and military equipment remain a priority. Starting from February 2022, Kiev received about 800 tanks, over 3,500 armored vehicles, about 1,500 artillery pieces, some 270 multiple-launch rocket systems, over 250 air defense missile systems, 7,700 MANPADS, up to 290,000 anti-tank weapons, around 130 planes and helicopters, and over 300,000 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types," he said in an article, headlined "NATO as the main source of military threats for Russia.".