VIENNA, January 25. /TASS/. Head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control Konstantin Gavrilov has called on the West to prevent "nuclear provocations" with Leopard 2 tanks.

"We warn the Western sponsors of the Kiev military machine against encouraging nuclear provocations and blackmail. We know that Leopard 2 tanks, as well as the Bradley and Marder armored infantry carriers are armed with armor-piercing projectiles with uranium warheads. Their use leads to the contamination of the area, like it was in former Yugoslavia and Iraq. In case such munitions for NATO-made heavy weapons are supplied to Kiev, we will consider that as the use of dirty nuclear bombs against Russia with all the consequences that come with it," he said at an OSCE forum on security cooperation.

The German government decided earlier to send 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine. Apart from that, Berlin will allow reexport from other countries. Russia’s Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev slammed this decision as "extremely dangerous," as it "raises the conflict to a new level of confrontation." Berlin’s choice, in his words, signaled "the final refusal of Germany to recognize historical responsibility" for Nazi crimes committed during the Second World War. He said the decision cast into oblivion "the difficult path of post-war reconciliation between the Russians and Germans.".