The Kremlin supports Russian initiatives to pay bonuses for capturing or destroying heavy weapons from NATO countries in Ukraine. Such special payments could encourage the soldiers even further, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"As for these tanks, we have already said that they will burn, of course, even more so if there are such expanded measures," said Peskov. Germany wants to deliver Leopard main battle tanks, the USA tanks of the Abrams type.

Three million rubles

Previously, the governor of the Transbaikalia region, Alexander Osipov, had announced a bonus of three million rubles (around 39,200 euros) for every captured German or US tank in Ukraine. Peskov said that Russian businessmen also made such proposals. "Different sums are given for technology set on fire, destroyed, for technology captured," he said.

This testifies to the unity in Russia to achieve the goals of the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the confidante of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin emphasized that these tanks have not yet been used as targets. "Obviously it needs a phase of preparation."

Referring to the possible delivery of longer-range US missiles to Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman said that these weapons would not change Russia's "military special operation" in Ukraine.

Russia and NATO

However, Peskov acknowledged that there were "rather peculiar, hostile" conditions for Russia in this war. "We see that NATO's entire military infrastructure is working against Russia. We see how NATO's entire intelligence, including aerial reconnaissance, satellite units, are working in the regime 24/7 in the interests of Ukraine," he told the Russian state According to news agency Tass.

During the Russian invasion that began around a year ago - on February 24 - Putin repeatedly cited the "demilitarization" of Ukraine as a war goal.