A Russian company has announced it will offer a $72,000 reward to the first soldiers to capture or destroy Western tanks in Ukraine.
Fores, a company based in the Urals region specializing in the production of equipment to support the energy industry, today announced that it will award the above reward in cash to Russian servicemen who “capture or destroy” the Leopard 2 tank due to German-made or American-supplied Abrams tanks for Ukraine.
The company said it would pay 5 million rubles ($72,000) for the first Russian soldier to destroy a Western tank and 500,000 rubles ($7,200) for the next.
According to Fores, NATO is pumping Ukraine with “unlimited” weapons and escalating the conflict. It also announced it would reward 15 million rubles ($215,000) for those who destroy Western-made warplanes if they are delivered to Ukraine.
Ukraine has not commented on this information.
Ukrainian servicemen stand next to their tanks near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine January 13. Photo: Reuters.
The US, Germany and several European countries have announced that they will deliver to Ukraine dozens of advanced battle tanks over the next few months to help boost their military capabilities. Russia criticized the decision as a dangerous escalation, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western tanks would be “burnt out” on the front lines.
These tanks have not yet been delivered to Ukraine and Ukrainian troops may take several months before receiving the first tanks.
Previous deliveries of advanced Western weapons, especially the HIMARS rocket artillery, are believed to have turned the tide in a war that has lasted more than 11 months, helping Kiev to win an unprecedented series of victories. suspect and repel Russian forces from some areas.
US President Joe Biden announced that the country will deliver 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Britain and Germany will support Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks and 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks, respectively. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country needed 300-500 tanks for the counter-offensive operation, noting that many aid weapons had not been handed over to Kiev.
Russia has repeatedly stated that any weapons transferred by the West to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict and lead to unnecessary bloodshed, insisting that it will target these weapons.
Huyen Le (Theo Reuters)