Putin: Russia to modernize over 1,600 tanks over next 3 years, produce new ones

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 25 that his country planned to modernize 1,600 tanks available in its stock over the next three years, as well as ramp up tank production, Russian state media reported.

Putin's March 25 claim during an interview with a Kremlin-controlled TV channel appears to be a threat against Ukraine and Western nations, which the Russian leader claims plan to send 420-440 tanks to Kyiv.

Neither the West nor Ukraine revealed the exact number of advanced tanks Kyiv is set to receive in the nearest months.

Russia has long threatened Western nations against providing Ukraine with tanks, claiming they would "regret" making such a decision.

Putin did not mention where the finance of his country's ambitious plan to modernize over 1,600 tanks would come from.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost 5,483 tanks and fuel vehicles since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.