Putin says Western tanks ‘priority target’ for Russia in Ukraine

Foreign-made tanks are a “priority target” for Russian forces in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, and the supply of Western weaponry to Kyiv will not change the course of the war.

Putin, in comments to state television on Thursday, also reaffirmed his stance that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would threaten Russia’s security while the provision of Western arms had only escalated global tensions further and prolonged the conflict.When asked about France’s decision to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which can travel 250km (155 miles), Putin said: “Yes, they cause damage, but nothing critical happens in the war zone with their use.”

The Russian leader added that foreign-made tanks were “a priority target for our guys”.Putin’s comments came as US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Russia had already lost the war in Ukraine and expressed hope that the ongoing, though slow-moving, counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces would push Moscow to the negotiation table.

“Putin’s already lost the war. Putin has a real problem,” Biden told a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki.

“There is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine,” he said.Biden also used his visit to Finland, NATO’s newest member, to pledge that Ukraine would one day join the alliance, despite NATO leaders failing to give Kyiv a membership timeline at a summit of the Western military alliance this week in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. NATO leaders had dashed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hopes for a clear path to joining NATO, saying that Ukraine would join when “conditions are met”.Biden was more upbeat about Ukraine’s NATO membership on Thursday.

“It’s not about whether or not they should or shouldn’t join. It’s about when they can join, and they will join NATO,” Biden said of Ukraine.

Putin’s comments on targeting Western tanks and warning on growing military assistance to Kyiv were his first public response to the remarks made at the NATO summit. He also reiterated Moscow’s strong opposition to Ukraine ever joining the defence bloc, saying this would threaten Russia’s own strategic interests.

“This will not increase the security of Ukraine itself. And in general, it will make the world much more vulnerable,” Putin said.