For the first time the US are sending another military aid package worth $2.2 billion which contains missiles which have a longer range.

A Moscow based spy, Sergei Naryshkin, who heads up Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Service has accused the US and its allies of being determined “to wage war with Russia.”

Naryshkin who is a close ally of the Russian President said that NATO are wanting to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia, but the Alliance will fail.

Naryshkin told state-run RIA news agency in a televised interview that Moscow has “taken note of the expansion in both the volume and the range of military equipment being supplied.”

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The Kremlin has said that sending longer range missiles to Ukraine will “escalate” the war and they have now placed a bounty on the US Abrahams tanks which are being sent to Kyiv.

The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will pay five million roubles  which is around £58,000 to the first Russian soldier who either destroys or captures the US built tanks, the German Leopard 2A tanks or the British Challenger 2 tanks.

Peskov added, “We have already said they will burn. With such incentives, I think there will be even more enthusiasts.”

Last week UK tech and defence experts are warning that Russian intelligence services will no doubt target the Challenger 2 tanks and say that they must not be used in scenarios they believe there is a “realistic possibility” of a military collapse.

Undoubtedly the US and other NATO countries will also have the same concerns and will be preparing for the potential that their tanks could be damaged and will need to be recovered immediately to stop secrets getting into Russian hands.

An expert told The Sun, “The British armour is the best in the world.

“In the history of Challenger 2s only one has been destroyed in battle and that was by friendly fire in Iraq.

“The Russians will be desperate to try and kill and capture a Challenger 2, partly for their propaganda but also to get their hands on its secrets.”

A defence source added, “If a tank is destroyed or disabled the first option is always to try and self-recover.

“You tow it with another tank or use a specialist armoured repair and recovery vehicle — which looks like a tank with a crane.

“But the worst-case scenario is that a tank is destroyed when the lines are collapsing and friendly forces are in retreat.

“Step one is the training and working with mission planners to try and ensure the Challengers are not used in scenarios where they think that collapse a realistic possibility.

“Step two is making sure, at the tactical level, the Ukrainians are trained to recover a tank under fire. They certainly don’t lack the courage.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said, “We conduct a rigorous assessment of the risks associated with providing weapons for the defence of Ukraine.

“The tanks we are providing to Ukraine will be drawn from the Army’s high readiness fleet to ensure they reach Ukrainian Armed Forces as quickly as possible.

“The platforms are already being prepared and will be ready to move in the coming months.”