The Sole Reason Ukraine Requires Western Tanks

What is happening to Ukrainian tanks, leaving them inoperable? Check out today's spectacular new narrative, which examines the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the actual reason Ukraine is requesting tanks from the West. ❕😤😟😖❕

One of the most gratifying announcements made by the west to date was the purchase of over 100 Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine, along with 31 Abrams tanks. The months-long political and social media campaign to free the leopards had finally come to an end on January 25, which quickly became known as Ukrainian Thanksgiving. But why can't Ukraine just use its own tanks, and why does it need western ones? The first stage of the conflict was best characterized as a tank massacre. With devastating losses for both sides, Russian and Ukrainian tanks engaged in fierce combat. Naturally, Russia lost the numerical battle, with an estimated 2,000 of its tanks being destroyed, abandoned, or taken prisoner. However, either poor troop and supply management or Western anti-tank missiles were largely to blame for this.

Although Ukraine has been very secretive about its losses, it is estimated that it may have lost as many as 800 tanks in the fighting to date, which is almost as many as when it began the war with Russia. Considering that Ukraine still has thousands of tanks in reserve, however, it technically won the great tank exchange. Comparatively, Ukraine lost almost 100 of its tank forces, while Russia lost about a quarter of the tanks it could actually deploy on the battlefield. We're not discussing anything even remotely modern, but at the end of the day, a large armored box on tracks with a large boom stick on a turret is still a large armored box on tracks with a large boom stick on a turret. You can make fun of T-62s being yanked out of museums and used all you want, until one of them blows you up into a fine mist because your side ran out of tanks a long time ago.

However, Ukraine did a good job of capturing Russian tanks as well. Of the recoverable vehicles, Ukraine recovered and repaired far more Ukrainian tanks than Russian tanks. Russia is believed to have generously given Ukraine 500 tanks during the fighting, which, as we've said many times, is not a very good way to win a war. You're not exactly headed for victory when you've outpaced your rival in terms of military equipment supply. Currently, Ukraine is thought to have just over 800 tanks back in operation. Again, these figures are merely estimates because the last thing Ukraine wants to do is provide Russia with crucial intelligence. Ukraine will need a lot more tanks, and tanks that are much more capable, if it wants to drive Russia out of the occupied territories.

Currently, the T-72 is the primary tank employed by Ukrainian forces, along with a few T-80s and T-92s that have either been acquired domestically or through combat capture. One of the greatest successes of the Soviet Union, the T-72 is a great vehicle. Even though it wasn't really comparable one-on-one with a western tank when it was deployed during the latter half of the Cold War, the tank is well protected, powerful, mobile, and, most importantly, relatively inexpensive. Today, a T-72 will cost you around $1 million, which is, to put it bluntly, an absolute steal when it comes to armored vehicles. When it came to military strategy and doctrine during the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the west, led by the US, took two entirely different paths.

The AirLand battle concept was adopted by the west, which opted for more technologically sophisticated, smaller-sized forces. Agile Western forces would attack Soviet formations simultaneously from multiple angles, while aircraft and Special Forces targeted the back-command areas to wreak havoc. This doctrine took advantage of the Soviet top-down command structure, and the west was aware that by severing the ties between commanders and their field units, it could significantly reduce Soviet fighting capabilities. Given their technological disadvantage compared to the west, the Soviet Union and its allies chose instead to field large armies and bring overwhelming numbers of people down on the west. The T-72 was thus ideal for this function because it was cheap to produce in large quantities while still being sufficiently protected to survive on the front.

When you consider that there are currently only about 2,000 German Leopard 2s, the number of T-72s produced, at 25,000, is astounding. If you were down with Marx and Lenin, the Soviet Union would essentially give you hundreds of T-72s, as the youth of today would say. Even though it wasn't the most advanced tank available, its effectiveness could be justified by the thousands of them swarming into western Germany. Eastern NATO allies started giving Ukraine a large number of their T-72s at the start of the conflict and over the course of the following few months. While those NATO members who were donating their T-72s were assured of modern tanks' replenishment, this assisted in restocking Ukrainian combat losses.

The T-72 is currently essentially extinct, as NATO has used up all of its own stockpiles as well as those from other countries that were willing to sell or donate theirs to Ukraine. Since no new T-72s are being produced for Ukraine, the country is left in a very difficult situation because, as long as the fighting goes on, the number of casualties will keep rising. If the west is unable to make up those losses, Ukraine loses the war, with terrible repercussions for global peace and European security. It follows that the only viable option is to resupply Ukraine with western tanks. From a practical standpoint, Ukraine requires Western tanks. There is really only one choice left now that there are no more Cold War artifacts to ship to the front.

Though, due to their superior performance to Russian tanks, Ukraine needs western tanks. Simply put, American and German Abrams and Leopard 2s are far superior to anything Russia is fielding in combat. Leopard 2s will slice through Russian lines like a hot knife through butter, as one military analyst observed. The Leopard 2 and Abrams both weigh over 20 tons more than a T-72 and that isn't just because Americans are gorged on fast food and freedom. That is an additional twenty tons of armor, armament, and equipment. You know you're going to have a bad day when you're facing off against a tank that has half your tank's weight in extra armor and armament. Russian observers have criticized western tanks as being bloated, but we can't help but notice that none of them are planning to volunteer to become tankers any time soon.

Even without the most cutting-edge armor packages, the Abrams is a colossal vehicle. The US has stated that it will be removing top-secret armor plating from the Abrams it sends to Ukraine. There have only been nine Abrams lost in battle, and only two of those were destroyed to evade capture. Seven of those nine losses were caused by friendly fire. We can anticipate a very similar performance on the Ukrainian battlefields given that Abrams led the charge against Soviet tanks in the deserts of Desert Storm. The Leopard 2 has also proven itself in battle, despite the fact that several Turkish Leopard 2s were destroyed during the Syrian conflict.

The jury is still out on this one, and the Turkish military isn't publicly disclosing many details, but it may have been because of poor implementation by the Turks. The Leopard 2, however, is unquestionably superior to anything the Russians still possess, so even though they are fewer in number, they will still be incredibly effective. But for Ukraine, it's not just better cannons and armor that make a difference; it's also the distinct advantages of contemporary western tanks over their Russian counterparts.

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