According to Zhdanov, now only the Challenger 2 company can appear on the battlefield, because Great Britain said that it would hand them over to Ukraine immediately.
Military expert Oleg Zhdanov predicts that tankswhich are provided to Ukraine by Western partners, will be used in counteroffensive operations, which will take place no earlier than March 2023.
In the comment ICTV facts to the question whether all the tanks that Ukraine will receive from Western countries will be able to change the current situation on the battlefield, Zhdanov answered in the negative.
“No, they won’t do anything now. Now only the Challenger 2 company can appear on the battlefield, because Great Britain said that they would hand them over to Ukraine immediately… We will receive the rest of the tanks no earlier than March,” he explained.
At the same time, according to Zhdanov, the Soviet-style tanks, which are handed over to us by our partners, can appear on the front lines at least tomorrow, if they arrive in Ukraine today. He also emphasized that the Western tanks that Ukraine will receive provide for counteroffensive operations.
“And we will have counteroffensive actions only after we complete the defensive operation against the offensive attempt that Putin is preparing… We need to take off our rose-colored glasses and stop talking about a counteroffensive, because our main task now is to successfully conduct a defensive operation,” he added expert.
The main tasks of Ukraine’s defense operation, as Zhdanov explained, are maintaining the defense line and exhausting the enemy’s forces and resources. In particular, it is necessary to inflict maximum damage on the Russian occupiers.
The expert noted that, despite the fact that Ukraine will immediately receive German Leopard, American Abrams and British Challenger, maintenance and repair of these tanks should not become a big problem.
“There will be problems, but this is not news for us. And I understand that we have experience – look at our artillery. We have all (varieties – ed.) artillery available in European countries. The same, each a gun has its own unique features, each gun needs its own spare parts and specialists who can maintain and repair it. The same will be the case with tanks,” he summarized.
Tanks for Ukraine
On the evening of January 25, 2023, US President Joe Biden officially announced on the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. One tank battalion will be formed from them. Earlier, Germany approved the supply of its Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi welcomed the decision western partners regarding the transfer of modern western tanks to our country. According to him, Germany’s decision to transfer the Leopard and the US’s decision to transfer the Abrams “proves the most important fact for the world right now – the fact that freedom is only getting stronger.”
At the same time, Oleg Katkov is the editor-in-chief of Defense Express considersthat after the transfer of the first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Western countries may begin deconserving other modifications of these tanks in order to continue their transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In addition, Slovakia can transfer Soviet T-72s to Ukraine, if allies offer a replacement. However, the issue of providing Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks is currently not being discussed.