US, France and Germany Send Combat Vehicles, Kremlin: This Supply Changes Nothing, Only Adds to the Pain of the Ukrainian People

JAKARTA - A new shipment of Western weapons, including French-made armored vehicles, to Kyiv will only "deeper the suffering of the Ukrainian people" and will not change the course of the conflict, the Kremin said Monday.

France and Germany last week announced plans to send aid light combat vehicles to Ukraine, increasing their military support for Kyiv. The United States has said it will also provide armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

"These supplies will not be able to change anything," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"These supplies can only add to the pain of the Ukrainian people and prolong their suffering. They are unable to stop us from achieving the objectives of the special military operation," Peskov said.

The Kremlin also said that despite France's decision to send more weapons to Kyiv, Moscow appreciated President Emmanuel Macron's contribution to maintaining dialogue between the West and Russia.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Macron maintained contact, there was a lull in the dialogue, but at the previous stage the contact was quite useful and constructive, despite all the differences," Peskov said.

Macron was criticized in Ukraine and in some Western capitals for holding hours-long phone calls with Putin in the early weeks of the Russian invasion.

Last month, President Macron was rebuked by the Baltic states for saying the West should take into account Russia's need for "security guarantees" in any future talks to end the fighting.

Ukraine, which has scored some battlefield success since Russian troops invaded last February, has been asking Western allies for heavier weapons and air defenses as it seeks to balance the conflict.

Last week, France announced it would deliver the AMX-10 RC light armored fighting vehicle. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced plans for the two countries to send similar vehicles, namely the Bradley and Marder.

President Zelensky appreciated the delivery plan, but still expected delivery of main battle tanks (MBTs) from Western countries.