The seizure of a German-made Leopard-2A4 has caused a stir in the German media, following the well-known fiasco of Turkish Leopard-2A4 tanks in Syria.
"The Russians claim to have seized a German Leopard-2A4 tank. Putin's troops are now using the German tank against Ukraine? Are they investigating our own battle tank to copy its modern technology?" writes bild.
At the same time, German media report that Ukraine is probably suffering the greatest losses in its counter-offensive in Zaporizhzhya.
The videos show German-made tanks destroyed and captured by Russia.
The Russian source must be treated with caution. However, it apparently provides authentic footage directly from the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
One of these battlefields is currently located near Tomkak in Zaporizhzhya, which is under heavy fire between Ukrainian forces and the Russian army.
Kiev appears to have suffered heavy losses of Western tanks and several videos shared on Twitter show how the Ukrainian army has lost at least one modern German-built Leopard 2-A6 and at least five US Bradley armoured personnel carriers, two or three US MaxxPro armoured personnel carriers and a Soviet-designed mine-clearing tank.
Obviously, Ukrainian forces face four major problems as they advance across the vast plains between the major cities of Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk in the Donbass and Melitopol in the Sea of Azov, as they suffer heavier losses.
Plan to surround the Russian army in Zaporizhzhya.
Ukrainian movements during the offensive indicate that their objective there is probably to surround Russian troops at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (NPP) and bring it back under their control.
The first major problem, however, is the large-scale Russian minefields. In the case described, the Ukrainians drove their tanks right into one of these minefields.
They then fled the military vehicles supplied by the West and simply left them where they were.
We recall that when the Turks launched the famous Operation Euphrates Shield, they had very bad results with this type of tanks, since the Jihadists had found a way to blow them up with anti-tank missiles, and this is exactly what the Germans fear for Ukraine.
Turkish Leopard-2A4 tanks in Syria were "lit like a torch" in a flash by the Russian jihadists' kornet anti-tank missiles.
The "Achilles heel" of the Leopard-2A4 turned out to be the side and rear of the tank.....which upon impact of a Russian anti-tank missile "lit up" the tank immediately killing personnel in the battle tower almost instantly.
To date this type of tank was considered one of the best battle tanks and the best type of tank in many Armed Forces.
The Pentagon expects that the Ukrainian Army will complete its training program on Abrams tanks by the end of the summer.
CBS News reported this news citing an unnamed US Department of Defense official.
The end of the training will roughly coincide with the expected delivery of 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine by the United States in the fall. The Ukrainians are currently training on specially equipped tanks in Germany and the Abrams promised by the U.S. government are being modernized.
According to two senior U.S. Army Europe and Africa officials, 200 Ukrainians are currently going through the third week of a 12-week training program. They are currently working on individual skills and will move on to group training as part of various units, culminating in exercises at the echelon level.
One of the U.S. officers said the U.S. is watching the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive as some of the brigades training in the U.S. enter the fight.
The use of Western tanks in Ukraine is crucial to achieving Kiev/NATO plans, as on the other hand the Russians are seeking to destroy this equipment, but also to confiscate it to copy it later.
