VIENNA, January 26. /TASS/. Russia’s envoy to the international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, on Thursday said that German-made Leopard 2 tanks, when they arrive in Ukraine, will reawaken painful memories of the struggle against the horrors of Nazism during the Great Patriotic War.
"I can’t imagine what other Europeans think about this, but for Russians the presence of German tanks on Ukrainian soil will mean a lot - not militarily, but politically. The memory of Nazi aggression that claimed 27 million lives is very fresh," the diplomat said on Twitter.
Germany said on Wednesday that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the country’s inventories and will allow other nations to re-export the armored military vehicles. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, according to a Focus Online report on Thursday, that Leopard 2 tanks would be sent to Ukraine before the end of March.