An exhibition of Western military equipment captured from Kyiv forces during the fighting in Ukraine opened in the Russian capital on Wednesday.
The display, organised by the Russian Defence Ministry, features more than 30 pieces of Western-made heavy equipment, including a US-made M1 Abrams battle tank and a Bradley armoured fighting vehicle, a Leopard 2 tank and a Marder armoured infantry vehicle from Germany, and a French-made AMX-10RC armoured vehicle.
The exhibition, which will remain open for a month at a Second World War memorial venue in western Moscow, also includes firearms, military papers and other documents.
Russian authorities have criticised supplies of Western weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, casting them as evidence of Nato’s direct involvement in the conflict.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly declared that Western military supplies to Kyiv will not change the course of the conflict and prevent Russia from achieving its goals.
The exhibition comes as Russian forces have grabbed more land in eastern Ukraine, taking advantage of delays in US military assistance to push back the under-gunned Kyiv forces.
Mr Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, hailed the Moscow exhibition as a “brilliant idea”.
“The exhibition of trophy equipment will attract great interest from Moscow residents, guests of our city, and all residents of the country,” he said. “We should all see the enemy’s battered equipment.”
Russian military bloggers drew parallels between the show and the exhibits of captured Nazi military equipment the Soviet Union held during and after the Second World War.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said foreign diplomats based in Moscow should take the opportunity to visit the exhibition to see how “the West destroys peace on the planet”.
“This exhibition will be interesting to all those who still believe in mythical ‘Western values’ or fail to notice an aggression unleashed by Nato against Russia and our people,” she said.