Military expert Shurygin: the PzH 2000 self-propelled guns transferred to Kiev turned out to be an ordinary carThe German self-propelled artillery units (ACS) Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 delivered to Ukraine failed to prove themselves during Russia's special military operation to protect Donbass.
Military expert Vladislav Shurygin told Izvestia about this on Wednesday, May 3.
As the specialist explained, before the start of its own, the PzH 2000 was considered one of the best self-propelled guns in the world, almost a model of a self-propelled artillery installation. The system was praised, it sold well.
"But the whole problem is that the German military industry faced the combat reality 80 years ago. They really created a very good gun, with very good ballistics, they equipped the car with good electronics, which showed itself perfectly in the conditions of European polygons and roads. As soon as the ACS found itself in an "alternative" reality, that is, in Russia, where its ancestors burned by the thousands, it turned out that the ACS needed other characteristics," Shurygin expressed his opinion.
So, these characteristics include survival, patency, maintainability in any conditions, as well as an amendment to the use of self-propelled guns by poorly technically trained crews. However, these characteristics do not apply to the PzH 2000.
"There was an image collapse of the combat system, which was considered ideal. According to the general set of qualities for combat operations, it turned out to be a fairly ordinary machine, could not make a breakthrough and, in general, did not show itself in any way," Shurygin concluded.
Earlier, The New York Times newspaper wrote that the PzH 2000 turned out to be worse adapted to the mudslide than the Soviet artillery systems "Peony", which they had to replace as newer. The article noted that last week it was decided to take all German self-propelled artillery units (self-propelled guns) from the battlefield because of their inability to leave the territory on their own in the event of Russian shelling.
On May 1, The Guardian newspaper reported that Western countries are concerned about reports that the AFU is not ready for a counteroffensive after multibillion-dollar financial injections and the transfer of a large number of weapons. The publication stated that Ukraine may not be able to cope with the preparation of a sufficient number of militants and military equipment to achieve its goals.
In mid-April, The Washington Post newspaper indicated that US officials recognize the fact that the AFU does not have enough ammunition for a successful counteroffensive.
In the same month, the head of the defense Committee of the Federation Council, Viktor Bondarev, said that the counteroffensive, which is being intensively prepared by Kiev, is doomed to failure. He recalled that the APU is severely depleted due to colossal losses.
The Russian Federation continues its special operation to protect Donbass, whose residents refused to recognize the results of the 2014 coup in Ukraine. The decision to start it was made on February 24, 2022 against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the shelling of Ukrainian troops.