After Suffering Heavy Losses, Ukrainians Paused to Rethink Strategy
The Bradleys have done part of their job well; their thick armor has provided good protection for most soldiers, who have survived many of the mine blasts with few injuries.
“Your ears ring and things inside fly around,” said one soldier, who asked to be identified only by his first name and rank, Pvt. Serhiy. He survived such an explosion last month in fighting south of the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade, one of the three Western-equipped and trained units that were deployed early in the campaign, was set to receive 99 Bradleys, according to the leaked U.S. military plans for the counteroffensive from February — still the most recent that have been made public.
Data from Oryx, a military analysis site that counts only losses that it has visually confirmed, show that 28 of those Bradleys have been abandoned, damaged or destroyed, including 15 in a village in Zaporizhzhia Province on June 8 and 9 as the 47th was attacked by helicopters while trapped in a minefield. The Oryx data show that only 24 tanks were lost for the entire month of June, including some from Ukraine’s own arsenal in addition to those supplied by Western allies.
Ten of them were German-made Leopard tanks and mine-clearers, the data show. Presumably, they were lost in battle with Ukraine’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade, one of the three units deployed early in the counteroffensive, and which was slated to receive 32 Leopards in the U.S. planning documents from Feb. 28.
Soooo...in the grand scheme of things, the losses are actually minor for a war of this size and scale, and considering how few Western tanks and armored vehicles have actually been sent to Ukraine. And those that have arrived on the battlefield are doing their jobs in saving Ukrainian solders' lives.
Remind me again how many thousands of tanks and other vehicles the Russians have lost?
Did the NYTs say 20%, then an additional 10% or not? Yes or no? As I said, unlike you, I’m hesitant to post inflated figures from either side. I merely stated that BOTH state propaganda organs agree. You don’t like the figures, take it up with them. Quit posting disinfo without a disclaimer. Also, whatever the Ukes lost, 1% or 50%, most of it obviously was new NATO stuff.
In which case would this be worse; the Bradleys which have better infantry crew protection, better firepower, and presumably better automotive design than the Soviet/Russian BMPs, or the Leopards, with their Rheinmetall 120mm guns and vastly better/safer ammunition storage than the Soviet/Russian tanks?
Wouldn't it be reasonable for NATO and the US to write off ALL the stuff given to Ukraine as "destroyed in combat", considering the likelihood that they will never be returned?