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| 'Abrams' are burning, mice are causing harm. Why are the Ukrainian Armed Forces massively losing NATO equipment? |
| 2024-03-05 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov [REGNUM] The Russian military, participating in the offensive operation in the Avdeevka direction, destroyed an American-made Abrams tank. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this in its daily report on March 4. According to the department, in the same area, Ukrainian Armed Forces units lost four infantry fighting vehicles, including three American-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and other military equipment. The information from the Ministry of Defense is confirmed by footage from the battlefield. Analysts have established that the Abrams were knocked out in the area of the village of Berdychi, where fierce fighting continues. The vehicle lost its track and was abandoned, after which the tank was finished off by drone strikes. As noted by military correspondent Alexander Kots, the chassis of the tank was damaged by a hit from a grenade launcher, after which it was hit by Ghoul kamikaze drones. This is the second confirmed case of the destruction of an Abrams. The Ministry of Defense announced the first on February 27. Then the car was tracked from the air and hit by kamikaze drone strikes. WHY ARE THE TANKS NOT READY? For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the loss of two American-made vehicles at once is very noticeable. Ukrainian troops received only 31 tanks of this model in addition to 100 German-made Leopard 2 tanks. Until approximately February 2024, the Abrams were in the reserve of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but a sharp deterioration of the situation at the front forced Kyiv to throw the tanks into battle. They were transferred to the 47th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is also armed with Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The unit was transferred to the Avdeevka area in early December, where it suffered heavy losses. According to information from Ukrainian sources, in recent weeks a large number of gunners and crew commanders of armored vehicles who were training at NATO training grounds have been killed. Why the Ukrainian Armed Forces are massively losing Western equipment, military expert and reserve tank forces officer Alexander Mikhailovsky told IA Regnum. According to him, Western models were simply not ready for combat operations in conditions of widespread use of artillery and anti-tank weapons. Over the past decades, the United States has been fighting against an obviously weaker enemy, which was taken into account when developing armored vehicles. As a result, the vehicles were not ready for combined arms battles, especially on rough terrain, explains Mikhailovsky. “Another problem is the lack of a normal number of evacuation vehicles at the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Typically, the car is knocked out, but the crew leaves it on the battlefield. All that remains is to destroy it. This question has not been thought through well. As a result, they receive such losses of armored vehicles,” the expert notes. The weight of the Abrams tank on average exceeds the weight of Soviet-style vehicles by 15–20 tons, Mikhailovsky said. Because of this, American armored vehicles have less maneuverability. The crews of Ukrainian German-made Leopard 2 tanks have already encountered the same problems. “THE VEHICLES WERE GETTING READY TO BE SLAUGHTERED” It is noteworthy that the United States, before sending tanks to Ukraine, dismantled modern equipment from each vehicle. According to USA Today, this was done to prevent US defense technologies from falling into the hands of the Russian military. In fact, M1A2 tanks were "demodified" to the older M1A1 model, which significantly reduced their chances of surviving on the battlefield. “We can assume that they were not predicted to have a long life in advance. Because the Pentagon, in essence, soberly assesses the real state of affairs. Continuous mining, dense artillery fire: in such conditions, the life of a tank lasts for minutes. They sent them to be slaughtered,” Alexander Mikhailovsky is sure. However, the problems of the Abrams were revealed much earlier. During the battles in Yemen, the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces lost dozens of American tanks. The vehicles were often destroyed by fire from crews of anti-tank systems using weapons developed back in the mid-20th century. As a result, the United States simply banned Saudi Arabia from using these vehicles in combat, citing the fact that their destruction would negatively affect the reputation of the American military-industrial complex. In addition to tanks, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also encountered problems when operating American M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Several hundred of them were delivered to Ukraine. According to the analytical forum LostArmour, whose users study data from open sources, during the battles Ukrainian troops lost at least 44 such vehicles. However, the real figure may be significantly higher. The situation with Leopard 2 tanks is no better: the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost about 25% of all delivered vehicles. The publication Foreign Affairs explained the high losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in armored vehicles by difficulties with maintaining the Leopards and the lack of well-structured logistics. UNENVIABLE PROSPECTS The loss of American tanks has already become a big problem for Ukraine, but this is only the beginning. As the American Congress refuses to finance the transfer of new weapons to Ukraine, dissatisfaction is growing in the United States with how exactly the Armed Forces of Ukraine use the received equipment. Now, footage of destroyed Abrams can be used as a clear illustration of the fact that no weapons help Kyiv change the situation at the front. At the same time, without fresh supplies, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' armored vehicle reserves may soon run out. “Of course, there is no exact data on their reserves. But if the last reserve is thrown into battle, then everything is sad. Stockpiles of Soviet vehicles around the world were almost gutted, stocks of Leopards were raked out from all over Europe. And the United States is in no hurry to open its arsenals. So in the future we will have to somehow manage without tanks,” says Alexander Mikhailovsky. At the same time, problems arise not only with future supplies of armored vehicles, but also with the vehicles available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Some of the tanks and other armored vehicles handed over by the West earlier were disabled... by rodents, reported the French publication Le Figaro. “Some of the electrical wire sheaths were made from corn fiber. Ukrainian soldiers suffered unexpected consequences. Rodents chewed through the wires on some cars, immobilizing them,” the newspaper wrote. The publication's interlocutor said that Western-made armored vehicles were developed as a demonstration of technology at training grounds. In field conditions, equipment suffers from frost and mud. Sometimes dirt gets stuck in the chassis of tanks, and then freezes between the tracked tracks, paralyzing the vehicles. The reduction in the maneuverability of units of the mechanized formations of the Ukrainian army opens up opportunities for new offensive operations by Russian troops. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 So, how many T-72's have been burned at this point? How many T-80's? (Oh, that's right , you don't have any.) |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2024-03-05 15:12 |
| #2 Poss, they didn't buy the extended warranty. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-03-05 13:53 |
| #1 I try to prevent rodent damage to my new minivan's delicious and appealing wiring insulation by stashing bars of Irish Spring soap all over it. Rumors in the US RV community suggested that prophylaxis. Fortunately I have almost no sense of smell. |
| Posted by: Gromble Dribble4342 2024-03-05 08:47 |