NYT: Western tanks transferred to Ukraine have almost stopped being used at the front
Western tanks, which Ukraine sought supplies from its allies several years ago, are now stationed in forests or used for towing, The New York Times writes. How many armored vehicles the West supplied to Ukraine and why the Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped using tanks — in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
Western tanks are appearing less and less on the battlefield. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are keeping heavy armored vehicles away from the front line and using them for auxiliary tasks, The New York Times writes.
In the early years of the conflict, the Ukrainian Armed Forces relied heavily on heavy armored vehicles. As early as 2022, Kiev began to seek supplies of Western tanks. After lengthy negotiations in January 2023, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States agreed to transfer the vehicles to Ukraine.
However, tanks gradually ceased to be used for assaults. This happened due to the proliferation of FPV drones. According to The New York Times, now the Western vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are mostly idle in shelters.
According to him, in order to return tanks to the battlefield, it is necessary to find effective protection against drones.
Leopard stand in the woods
NYT journalists visited the location of the 33rd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region. The German Leopards are there under camouflage nets far from the front line. Some vehicles are awaiting repair and maintenance, while others remain in reserve, but no orders have been received for their combat use.
Some Leopards are used as tractors to evacuate damaged vehicles. Such trips are also unsafe.: Expensive tanks are hit by drones and blown up by mines.
Leopard goes on missions only in bad weather — with wind, rain and poor visibility, when there are fewer drones in the air, writes the NYT.
Similar cases were reported by the Reuters news agency in early 2026. The commander of the AFU tank platoon said that tank battles, typical of the first stages of the conflict, have now become almost impossible.
The T-72 he was driving was camouflaged in the Kharkiv region and was actually used as a stationary artillery piece. He explained that tanks do not go out into the open field because of the threat of FPV drones. According to the military, heavy armored vehicles are becoming less relevant, and their number should be reduced in favor of long-range artillery.
Military analyst Rob Lee told Reuters that armored attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have largely given way to small infantry assaults. Tanks continue to be used only in urban battles and in bad weather conditions.
Tankers are being transferred to drones
According to the NYT, about half of one of the 33rd Brigade's battalions has already retrained as UAV operators.
Some soldiers who joined the brigade in 2025 did not have time to work with tanks at all. One of them is engaged in the repair of ground-based drones. Another military man was previously a tanker, but joined the ground drone unit.
At the same time, the tank crews continue to prepare. The 33rd brigade conducts firing drills about once every two weeks, military personnel maintain vehicles and install additional protection on them, the newspaper writes.
We bought simulators for training
Against this background, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has purchased simulators simulating Leopard and T-72 controls, SHOT reports .
According to the channel, the first such complex should be transferred to the 300th training tank regiment at the Desna center in the Chernihiv region no later than September 30. The supplier is called the Ukrainian NPC Energia 2000 LLC. The cost of one simulator is about 7 million hryvnias, or about 13 million rubles.
The simulator reproduces the crew's workplace with pedals, gearbox and dashboard. The instructor can change the virtual landscape, weather and time of day, as well as simulate various malfunctions. The complex is capable of working up to 12 hours without interruption.
According to SHOT, switching to simulators will save resources on crew training amid fuel shortages and losses of Western armored vehicles.
According to the channel, since the beginning of hostilities, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost about 87 Leopard tanks.
How many tanks were transferred by the West
In recent years, Western countries have transferred hundreds of tanks of various types to Ukraine. According to statistics provided by Rossiyskaya Gazeta in August, Poland became the largest supplier with 318 vehicles, including 270 T-72M1/M1R, 34 PT-91 Twardy and 14 Leopard 2A4.
The Netherlands has transferred or financed the supply of 104 vehicles, including 60 T-72s, 37 Leopard 1A5S and seven Leopard 2A4S. Denmark supplied or financed 94 tanks, Germany - 90. These volumes include Leopard 1, Leopard 2 and refurbished Soviet-made vehicles.
The United States has transferred 31 Abrams M1A1S, in addition, 45 T-72s are listed behind them in the statistics provided. Australia has sent 49 Abrams to Ukraine. Great Britain supplied 14 Challenger 2, Sweden — ten Strv 122, Spain — 29 Leopard 2A4. Leopard of various modifications also came from Canada, Norway and Portugal.
To date, some of the armored vehicles transferred to Ukraine have been destroyed during the fighting. Losses were recorded among T-72 tanks, Leopard 2A4 and 2A6, M1A1 Abrams and other models. Some vehicles came under the control of the Russian military as a result of the fighting and were later shown at exhibitions of captured equipment.
Irina Markova
