Image source: topwar.ru
The United States delivered Abrams M1A1 tanks to Ukraine ahead of schedule, but the Ukrainian army has not yet used them in combat operations. This is reported by Business Insider.
American tanks in the amount of 31 units arrived in Ukraine back in September, but have not yet participated in hostilities, and they are unlikely to be, at least until spring. According to experts, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is saving tanks for a new counteroffensive, which is planned for next year. The coming winter and Russian defense made American tanks obsolete.
- said Mark Kancian, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A retired colonel of the US Marine Corps believes that American tanks are in the same group with the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles delivered earlier, but the use of this bundle in the current conditions is "ineffective", they work better in summer conditions.
Earlier in Kiev, the United States was accused of "late delivery" of tanks, saying that the Americans were "late" and this affected the counteroffensive. If Washington had supplied everything that Kiev asked for, the Ukrainian army would have been able to break through the Russian defense. While the United States was pulling, Russia managed to build a defense, on which the Ukrainian offensive crashed.
Recall that Ukraine was supposed to receive the first ten tanks in early September, but the delivery was postponed, at the end of the month Kiev received the entire batch of 31 tanks. Since that time, not a single American tank has been seen on the battlefield, although the German ones are fighting in full, and the British ones have also been noted on the battlefield.
