MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. One of the factors making Western-made tanks provided to Kiev an easy target for destruction by Russian troops is that Ukrainian forces are unable to use them properly, retired Colonel Sergey Suvorov, an expert in armored vehicles, told TASS.
"Incompetent use is what is destroying Western tanks in Ukraine, among other things, including the lack of proper support in situations where no safe corridors are created when tanks are taken into minefields and no proper reconnaissance is conducted. Consequently, they become fixed targets for all available weapons, including artillery systems, aircraft, anti-tank rocket systems, grenade launchers and kamikaze drones," he pointed out.
According to Suvorov, the heavy tonnage of Western-made vehicles, as well as the fact that troops often neglect to remove the rubber grouser cleats for driving on asphalt from the tank’s treads, leaves many tanks susceptible to getting stuck in the mud of the battlefield. As a result, they become "sitting ducks" that can be easily destroyed by kamikaze drones and other weapons due to a lack of reactive armor.
The New York Times reported on September 25 that the first shipment of US-made Abrams tanks had arrived in Ukraine "months ahead of initial estimates." US defense officials told the paper that the tanks were the first of a consignment of 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBT) that the Biden administration had promised to provide to Kiev. According to the officials, more Abrams tanks "will be sent in the coming months." "Ukraine has said it needs at least 300 Western tanks for its counteroffensive, but it has so far received only about half that number," the newspaper added.