British Embassy to Ukraine issues Kremlin with a recognition guide to its own battle tanks

IN the face of blatant lies by Russia that its forces are not fighting in Ukraine, Britain has issued President Putin a crash-course on how to spot his own tanks.

IN the face of blatant lies by Russia that its forces are not fighting in Ukraine, Britain has issued President Putin a crash-course on how to spot his own tanks.

The British Embassy in Ukraine has distributed a leaflet online and in print defining the key characteristics of tanks exclusively built for the Russian military.

#Putin still denying #Russia’s troops & hardware are in #Ukraine. Here’s a guide to help the #Kremlin spot its tanks: pic.twitter.com/RYPeeK0Paf

— UK in Ukraine (@UKinUkraine) November 19, 2014

They’re T-72BM main battle tanks. Their computers, weaponry and armour are so advanced Russia is keeping them to itself.

As Ukraine never possessed any of these tanks, their presence is a dead giveaway of ongoing direct Russian support for the insurgents in the east of war-wracked Ukraine.

OBJECT 2014-28e: Putin taunts the world from space

Such evidence is handily provided, with a collection of verified media images of these advanced armoured vehicles on the wrong side of the border attached.

Embarrassingly for the Kremlin, one is a burnt-out wreck.

Left #H2200 @RuRailways marking in #Rostov, #Russia Right same marking in #Donetsk in October and today. It's real!! pic.twitter.com/jXW7nbiMgV

— Conflict Reporter (@Conflict_Report) November 10, 2014

Identifying Russian equipment from their unique modifications — or unit markings that their crew have forgotten to conceal — has become almost a national pastime in Ukraine.

Twitter is flooded with photos and video of convoys of vehicles being linked with Russian military units. And reports of Russian military activity along its borders continue to flow in.

The tenuous ceasefire seems doomed to fail, with an enormous explosion rocking the Donetsk Airport earlier this morning.

VIDEO Massive explosion app 2hrs ago #Donetsk Airport https://t.co/GWrybacyUG #Russia terrorist missile? #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/tsxSbBnXsA

— raging.me (@raging545) November 19, 2014

The ongoing charade is frustrating those at the highest levels.

A senior aide of President Barack Obama today said he believes the US should consider giving Ukraine lethal, defensive military assistance to get Russia to think twice about its destabilising behaviour.

President Putin still denies that his army is in Ukraine. He must believe we are complete fools. pic.twitter.com/XGFKr8vjtl

— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) November 19, 2014

Tony Blinken, the deputy national security adviser, cites “serious” violations by Russia of agreements not to interfere in its neighbour’s civil strife.

Blinken says he won’t describe his private discussions with the president or how he would counsel Secretary of State John Kerry if confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Kerry’s deputy.

Russia Is Moving Combat Aircraft To The Ukrainian Border Read more: http://t.co/Zp7ZsKnI3t pic.twitter.com/cxHDKApBeG

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) November 19, 2014

But he says he believes the U.S. ought to consider strengthening Ukrainian forces as a message to Moscow. He said: “That’s something we should be looking at.”

Providing defensive military equipment to Ukraine has broad support in Congress. The administration has thus far baulked at such assistance.