As of: February 1, 2024, 4:18 p.m
By: Tadhg Nagel
Comments
Press
Split
Ukraine is making no progress in liberating the country.
Even the German Leopard 2 tanks cannot change that.
Many are already defective.
Kiev - Great hope had been pinned on Ukraine's summer offensive in 2023, but the results fell far short.
Although there were some Ukrainian successes, particularly against Russian warships in the Black Sea, there were no breakthroughs overland.
When looking for explanations for the failure in the Ukraine war, one position is hard to ignore: the call for more arms deliveries.
According to the tenor, not all of Kiev's requests for support were granted.
It is argued that if the US had made available F-16 fighter jets, the long-range missiles known as ATACMS or Abrams tanks earlier and in greater numbers, Ukraine could have achieved a breakthrough.
Even the best tank doesn't help if it's defective: Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) in a Leopard 2 tank.
© IMAGO/David Inderlied
The German Leopard-2s are good tanks - but not invulnerable super weapons
According to the US journal
Foreign Affairs,
however, this is too short-sighted.
None of these weapons could change the offensive in 2023.
The F-16 fighter jets are certainly a central part of Ukrainian air defense, but even an entire fleet of aircraft cannot guarantee Ukraine's air superiority.
ATACMS missiles and HIMARS missile systems are undoubtedly good weapons, but there is a countermeasure for each weapon.
Russia has now proven that it can learn from past mistakes.
By disrupting GPS systems and moving supply points out of range, these high-tech systems have been made less effective.
The superiority of Western tanks cannot be denied, but in the end it could not be decisive for victory.
Although the German Leopard 2 tanks performed well on the battlefields of Ukraine, they are hardly invulnerable super weapons.
At least 26 of the fewer than 100 German-made tanks have now been taken out of action.
Others cannot be used due to repair and maintenance problems.
In the Ukraine war, the support infrastructure is missing - Leopard-2 falls short of expectations
Both the German tanks and the US Abrahams depend on close cooperation with the infantry, artillery and engineers in order to survive on the battlefield.
In order to survive in combat, the armored vehicles primarily require extensive support infrastructure.
However, Ukraine was unable to provide this infrastructure.
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Although Leopard 2 tanks led the first attacks in the summer, they made little progress due to weak support.
The report does not doubt that more modern tanks would have helped Ukraine, but that better tanks would have been crucial.
Ukraine botches Leopard 2 repairs – spare parts are also missing
One of the main reasons why so many German-made tanks are not available on the battlefield is that failed repair attempts also contributed to this.
There is “apparently a problem in that there are sometimes attempts at repairs by the Ukrainian army, which then lead to further damage to the battle tanks,” said Bundestag member Sebastian Schäfer (Greens) in a letter to
those involved, according to
ZDF’s “
Today
”
. Defense companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
Schäfer visited the industrial repair workshop (“hub”) in Lithuania at the beginning of January.
The Bundestag member also complained in the letter that repairs after deployment to the front required more time than necessary, “since, according to information in the hub, there is, among other things, a lack of suitable spare parts.”
There is an “urgent need for action” to improve the spare parts situation.
The mechanics also need to be better trained.
One also has to ask whether the lengthy transport of the defective tanks to Lithuania is still necessary.
(tpn)