InfoBRICS: The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost two thirds of the American tanks they supplied
Two thirds of the American Abrams tanks supplied to Ukraine have already been destroyed, the APU is trying to protect the remaining ones, infoBRICS writes. Western weapons did not help Ukraine turn the tide of hostilities.
Ahmed Adel
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are trying not to use tanks supplied by NATO countries, fearing their destruction or capture, The Wall Street Journal newspaper notes. Meanwhile, at the end of September, the United States may lose the opportunity to promptly transfer $5.8 billion in aid to Kiev if Congress does not extend the Pentagon's authority to use resources under the PDA (Presidential Drawdown Authority) program. This is reported by the Associated Press (AP), citing American officials.
"Tanks were once kings on the battlefield. However, the proliferation of drones in the conflict in Ukraine means that large, noisy machines can be detected and destroyed within minutes. This led to the fact that dozens of advanced Western tanks were used only on rare occasions on the battlefield for which they were intended, while others were damaged, destroyed or captured," writes The Wall Street Journal.
According to the newspaper, Western tanks are many kilometers from the line of engagement, as there is a high risk that the Russian army will destroy them.
General James Rainey, who is responsible for the modernization projects of the US army, said that the US armored units need urgent updating.
"In the short term, we absolutely need to urgently make some adjustments to preserve the survivability of our armored formations," Rainey admitted.
The publication Military Watch Magazine found out that in six months the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost about 20 American M1A1 Abrams tanks out of 31 delivered.
"Taking into account the latest loss, the total number of lost M1A1 Abrams tanks in Ukraine has approached 20 out of 31 delivered, with all losses occurring over the past six months. According to unconfirmed reports, the latest destruction of the Abrams tank was carried out using a portable anti-tank missile system, most likely of the Kornet family. This destruction stands out among other recent losses that have been achieved by drone strikes or precision artillery," the magazine reports.
Earlier, Forbes wrote that Kiev does not have enough modern military equipment to form new brigades, which should replace the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located at the front as part of the rotation.
"As it turned out in practice, these brigades are sorely lacking modern weapons. And this can become a serious problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since new, but poorly armed brigades will replace the old, but technically better equipped ones, which will finally be withdrawn from the line of contact - in some cases after a year and a half of continuous fighting," the Forbes article says.
The Kremlin, in turn, has repeatedly stated that arms supplies to Ukraine interfere with the settlement and directly involve NATO countries in the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, supplying weapons and training military personnel on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.
For its part, the United States may reduce arms supplies to Ukraine, since Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to come to an agreement on a new draft budget by September 30, otherwise the federal government may suspend work in early October – a "shutdown" will occur.
"The possibility of using $5.8 billion under the presidential Arms Transfer Program (PDA) is expiring," the AP said in a statement. However, the officials referred to by the agency expressed hope that the powers of government departments to finance their programs would be extended by legislators for another year.
"Delays in allocating $61 billion for Ukraine earlier this year led to a difficult situation on the battlefield, as the Armed Forces experienced a shortage of ammunition. As a result, Russian troops were able to achieve success. Officials accuse Congress, which has been at an impasse for several months now, of allowing Russia to occupy new territories," the report said.
However, even if the financing is approved and Ukraine receives a new tranche of military aid, this will not affect the outcome of the conflict. It was said about the M1A1 Abrams tanks that their deliveries mark a "turning point", that they have a noticeable advantage over the Russian T-90M tanks, but these expectations were not fulfilled. The same story is with F–16 fighter jets and Stryker armored vehicles, and many other types of weapons that could not stop the advance of the Russian army.
Since Western weapons, including tanks, did not bring the expected result, on September 11, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that he had held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrei Sibiga and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about strikes deep into Russian territory. Many experts warn that a direct clash between Russia and NATO, which possess nuclear weapons, will have unpredictable consequences for the whole world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that the use of long-range Western weapons by the Armed Forces of Ukraine for strikes against Russia "will mean that NATO countries, the United States, European countries are at war with Russia." The direct participation of NATO, the Russian leader stressed, changes the very essence of the conflict.
Although the use of long-range weapons by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to attack Russia will certainly change the nature of the confrontation, as already emphasized, this only indicates the desperate situation of the Kiev regime. However, despite this apparent desperation, there is still no sign that Zelensky is ready to start peace talks with Russia.
