The Ukrainian Armed Forces have for several days been attempting a large-scale offensive reconnaissance over almost the entire width of the front in the east of their country, in order to identify the weak point of the Russian defensive layout, so that they can launch their main attack there, breaking through the enemy's defensive lines.
Unfortunately for them, they have not been able to achieve any of the above, not even to break through the first of the three successive lines of defense of the Russian Armed Forces, while at the same time they are aware of significant losses of ladies in main Western weapon systems and means , such as tanks, tanks, TUMP, TOMA, which have been provided to them by the US and other NATO member countries.
A related International Media article states that, "Germany is 'shocked' by the losses of Leopard-2 tanks on the Ukrainian front, finding that Russian grenades are penetrating their armor."
"The Ukrainian counter-offensive is proceeding with unexpected losses of equipment, including state-of-the-art German Leopard-2 main battle tanks (MBTs), with Russian officials and media claiming that their forces have shocked the Ukrainians.
According to Oryx, a Dutch open-source defence intelligence analysis (OSINT) website, Ukraine has lost over six tanks, some of which were destroyed while others were abandoned in their recent counter-attack.
However, the figures claimed by pro-Russian bloggers are significantly higher.
Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing a German-built Leopard-2 and American-built M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle that it said was captured by its forces in Ukraine. The video went viral on social media and encouraged Russian officials to mock the German tanks.
Russia's permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, sarcastically told a Russian TV channel recently that German Leopard tanks will soon be proposed for registration in the "Red Book" because the Russian army is constantly destroying them.
The Russian Federation's "Red Book" is a government publication used to list rare and endangered species of animals, plants and fungi, as well as certain local subspecies, such as the Ladoga seal, that exist on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Although these are words exchanged by both sides in the ongoing conflict, an article published in the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published one of the worst criticisms of the German-built Leopard-2 tanks with the headline, 'Ukraine and its ally Germany retreat'.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a> Russian MoD: Russian forces seized German Leopard tanks.</p>— Clash Report (@clashreport) <a href="https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1668532084250484738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian war correspondents last week that the Ukrainian army lost over 160 tanks in its counter-offensive. These figures, however, have been refuted by Western military observers and war-monitoring groups.
Ukraine has lost more tanks , TUMAs, TUMPs, than expected while attacking Russian defensive positions.
Following this, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrii Melnyk, asked Germany for more Leopard-2 tanks in addition to the 18 Leopard-2A6 tanks already delivered by Berlin, stressing that "every Leopard-2 is worth its weight in gold".
However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the Bundeswehr would not be able to reinforce Ukraine by replacing all the tanks destroyed or captured by the Russian Armed Forces.
While other NATO allies, the Netherlands and Denmark, have stepped up to the plate to buy 14 Leopard-2 tanks from German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall for Ukraine, the Russian article cited above took Germany's refusal as a retreat after a faltering Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Entitled "Echoes of Stalingrad: Germany is shocked by 'Leopard' losses and seeks ways to retreat," a Russian report likened the recent tank losses faced by Ukrainian troops to the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II in which Nazi Germany was driven out by the Soviet Army and lost over 500 tanks.
The Battle of Stalingrad is known as the battle of World War II that changed the trajectory of the war.
The report states that the Germans delayed sending their tanks into Ukraine knowing in advance of their destruction.
It further states that the Americans promised to send a fleet of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, but did not do so, exposing Germany as the "best in the Western world" in tank construction.
Germany and the US announced the transfer of their cutting-edge battle tanks to Ukraine in late January.
While Berlin promised delivery of 18 Leopard-2s in April, Ukrainian troops are now training for the operation of the US M1A1 and 31 of these tanks are scheduled for delivery by autumn this year.
However, several military commentators have argued that the US pressured Germany to send Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine immediately , in order for other NATO countries that have them in their arsenals to do the same.
The Russian report goes on to say that the German tanks were presented as a 'manna from heaven', capable of thwarting the hordes of Russian tanks and guaranteeing Ukraine's victory.
"Many experts explained to Western audiences that the flow of German tanks has the potential to change the course of the war," that modern Western tanks are a generation ahead of the Russian tanks, since the German Leopard 2 is considered one of the best tanks in the world in terms of mobility, safety and firepower," it goes on to say.
The report concludes that somehow the Western media somehow projected the German tanks as "one of the best tanks in the world" that could not cope with Russian weapons , at the time the number of Leopards destroyed or disabled in recent days is already approaching two dozen.
Although Germany has remained firm in providing more military aid to Ukraine to help its counter-attack effort, the refusal to replace the lost tanks is seen as a "German retreat" by the Russians."
