by Kirill Strelnikov
[RIA] At yesterday's meeting with war correspondents, Vladimir Putin said that during his counter-offensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost at least 160 tanks.
And a few hours before, German Defense Minister Pistorius said that the Bundeswehr would not be able to compensate Ukraine for all the tanks that were destroyed, destroyed or captured by the Russian Armed Forces. This statement was a response to the hysterical demands of the representatives of the Kyiv regime to "triple the supply" of Leopard tanks.
Between the lines of this statement, one can clearly read: "We did what we could, but you fell in love with all the polymers and now figure it out yourself." The Germans can be understood: they terribly did not want to send their tanks to Ukraine and resisted to the last, knowing full well that the burning "Leopards" in the fields of the remains of Ukraine are the worst possible advertisement for their prodigy. The Americans, who poked the Germans in the back with a stick, swore to send an armada of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, but, of course, they deceived - and now Germany is taking the rap for the shame of the "best in the world" Western tank building alone.
And it all started very, very well.
As soon as the announcements about the supply of "Leopards" to the Armed Forces of Ukraine were announced, a uniform bacchanalia began in the Western media, where German tanks were presented as manna from heaven, which could reverse the hordes of Russian orcs in one fell swoop and ensure the victory of Ukraine. NATO tabloids were full of headlines like
Numerous experts condescendingly and fingertips explained to the Western audience that the flow of German tanks "has the potential to change the course of the war", that "modern Western tanks are a generation ahead of (Russian) ones in destroying enemy positions", that "German tanks are definitely much better than Russian ones", because "The German Leopard 2 is considered one of the best tanks in the world in terms of its mobility, security and firepower."
But "one of the best tanks in the world" for some reason could not cope with Russian weapons and the Russian spirit, and the number of Leopards destroyed or disabled in recent days is already approaching two dozen. This means that out of 60 Leopard 2 tanks delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Germany as of the end of May, Russian soldiers destroyed a third in just three days.
The news about the burning "Leopards" became a real cold shower for the Western media. Articles about Russian soldiers fleeing at the sight of German tanks, jokes about combines that the Russian Defense Ministry passes off as wrecked "Leopards" have evaporated somewhere, and mournful and justifying passages began to appear instead:
"Even the most advanced battle tanks in their arsenal - the German-supplied Leopard 2A6 and the British Challenger 2 - are not indestructible."
“Main battle tanks help break through the line of invading troops, but they are not miracle weapons. Of course, Leopard 2s are also destroyed.”
"Ukraine sent German Leopard 2 main battle tanks into battle for the first time, and it ended in disaster. The loss of a battle group is the defeat of Kiev and the triumph of Russia."
In addition to the shameful situation in which Germany has fallen, the purely economic factor is also salt in the wound. Each Leopard 2 costs German taxpayers a minimum of $32 million. For comparison: the anti-tank missile "Kornet", excellent "clicking boxes" in Ukraine, costs no more than 80,000 dollars apiece ("Holy Javelina" - 600,000 dollars). In whose direction the balance is, even Klitschko understands.
It got to the point that menacing instructions began to come to the Armed Forces of Ukraine demanding "to find an excuse for the loss of modern samples of NATO equipment within five days."
There is no doubt that they will find excuses: the Armed Forces of Ukraine are famous for their creativity in the field of reports.
But it will not be easy to do this, taking into account the fact that the entire iron NATO international is now burning relish in the fields of the "Country 404" together with the "Leopards": Russian troops destroyed several dozens of various types of Western equipment in a couple of days, including the Leopard BMR supplied by Finland , French AMX-10RC tanks, Polish Crab self-propelled guns, American MaxxPro armored personnel carriers and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The latter, according to information from Western sources, during the three days of the "counterattack" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 16 pieces were destroyed, that is, 15 percent of all delivered to Ukraine.
In total, according to various sources, since February 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost about four thousand units of military equipment, which leads their Western curators to deep sadness.
In February, the German Ministry of Economy approved exports to Ukraine of up to 178 additional Leopard 1A5 tanks, but now - after the Leopard-colored disaster - one can reasonably expect these deliveries to either be delayed or cancelled.
But even if there are deliveries, it does not matter: we have once again shown that no Western miracle weapon can defeat a Russian soldier. And if we need to repeat, we will repeat.