Ukraine Situation Report: Challenger Tanks, Stryker Armored Vehicles Arrive In Country With the arrival of the new Western tanks and other armor, Ukraine’s Defense Minister said “our military zoo is expanding.” BYHOWARD ALTMAN|PUBLISHED MAR 27, 2023 8:53 PM EDT Ukraine MOD HOWARD ALTMANView Howard Altman's Articles As Ukraine continues to eye an offensive, more of the internationally promised armor that will help make that happen has arrived in country, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Ukraine has received at least some of the 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers and 37 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles promised by the U.S., as well as at least some of the 14 Challenger 2 tanks promised by the U.K. and the 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles promised by Germany, which has also sent Ukraine 18 Leopard 2 tanks. So too have three Leopard 2A6 tanks from Portugal, according to its Defense Ministry, which announced the arrivals Monday in a Tweet. Germany has also delivered the 40 Marders, according to a report Monday by Der Spiegel. An extensive package of associated weapons and spare parts was delivered, as well, Der Spiegel reported. In the past two months, Ukrainian soldiers and technicians have been trained in Germany on the Leopard and the Marder. The German and Portuguese Leopard 2s join 14 such tanks already delivered to Ukraine by Poland as of earlier this month. They were part of the first tranche of 150 Leopard 2 tanks promised to Ukraine by NATO member nations and allies like Sweden. Combined, the German, Portuguese, and Polish donated Leopard 2 tanks provide enough armor to make up slightly more than one Ukrainian tank battalion, which consists of 31 tanks. More Leopard 2 variants are just across the border in Poland. “Four were announced on January 26, and have been delivered to Poland,” the Canadian Defense Ministry told The War Zone Monday. “There’s no specific timeline at this time for their movement to Ukraine. Another four, as well as one Leopard 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicle, were announced on February 24 and are making their way to Ukraine.” With multiple countries donating or potentially donating Leopard 2s, the type is set to become the backbone of Ukraine's modernized tank force. While it is unclear how many are already in Ukraine, all of the 14 Challenger 2 tanks promised by the U.K., meanwhile, should arrive before the anticipated Ukrainian offensive, according to The Guardian. Ukrainian crews have returned home after completing training in the UK on those tanks, according to the newspaper. “The Ukrainian crews and the tanks are expected to be in position in time for a spring counteroffensive that is believed to be in the works,” The Guardian reported. “The UK defense secretary, Ben Wallace, said the Ukrainian soldiers “return to their homeland better equipped, but to no less danger.” The UK. MoD produced a 30-minute documentary to show the effectiveness of the training and the skill of the Ukrainian armor troops. As for the 31 promised U.S. Abrams tanks, even though an effort is being made to speed up delivery, they are not expected to arrive in Ukraine until the fall at the earliest, according to the Pentagon. "Ever since we made this announcement, we've been committed to exploring options to deliver the armored capability [M1 tanks] as quickly as possible," Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, told reporters last week. "After further study and analysis on how best to do this, DOD, in close coordination with Ukraine, has made the decision to provide the M1A1 variant of the Abrams tank, which will enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year." Aside from the armor already in Ukraine, more has been promised to Kyiv. A shipment of M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles arrived in Europe in February, and Ukrainian personnel have been training on them, but there are no clear indications that any of them have joined the fighting yet. Canada has also promised 200 Roshel Senator Mine-Resistant, Ambush Protected armored vehicles, at least some of which have been in country since January. "Defense Minister Anita Anand announced in January 2023 that Canada will donate an additional 200 Senator commercial pattern armored vehicles to Ukraine. Roshel will be responsible for delivering the vehicles to Ukraine, and deliveries are expected to be completed by summer 2023." "In April 2022, Canada announced an initial eight armored vehicles purchased from Roshel for Ukraine. These were delivered in May 2022," the Canadian MoD told The War Zone Monday. Regardless of when all the promised equipment finally make it to Ukraine, Reznikov said the paradigm has already shifted. "We are already winning," he said Monday, using a derogatory term for Russian troops frequently uttered in Ukraine. "After all, the Orcs' 'special operation' is going 'according to plan' — they are digging trenches and trying to fortify themselves. In their heads, they have already changed the paradigm from 'we are the second army in the world and we will defeat you in three days' to 'we must go on the defensive.'" "Yes, we have come a long way. And there is much more to come. All our cities will be liberated and we will go to the borders internationally recognized in 1991. And this new technique will be a good company for its 'brothers" on the battlefield.'" Reznikov said he learned first-hand how well the Challengers work. "By the way, after personally 'piloting' the Challenger, as a participant in trophy raids, I can say that even the driver of a Rolls Royce will not be as comfortable as the crew of this work of martial art on off-road," he said. So, in short: our 'military zoo' is expanding. And an 'elephant' joined the 'war cats.' That's what our paratroopers nicknamed the Challenger." Before we dive into the latest updates from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can get caught up on our previous rolling coverage here. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ks-stryker-armored-vehicles-arrive-in-country
Peter hit the nail on the head. China is using Russia weakness to kick Russia out of Central Asia. Putin is literally losing on every front. I've been saying this for months now but the Russian trolls in this thread want to spew kremlin talking points.
Real Life Lore posted a vid about China being a threat to Russia and seems to be more and more validated as Russia gets pounded.
Your analysis has been spot on in this thread. You see the bigger picture. I pity the right wingers in this thread. People have no idea what's truly happening. Russia is crumbling
You realize I’m having so much fun in this section @basso I feel like Hakeem in 94 just toying with every frontline that goes against the Rockets And @AroundTheWorld is Otis Thorpe
Don't ever forget that @Space Ghost is a joke. These folks are treated as serious folks which is hilarious.
Trump is such a ****ing idiot and anyone that still supports him is either ignorant or flat out a dumbass. DD
Ive said it before and I’ll say it again. All of these MAGA people who have claimed to be American first and anti war will do a 180 if there’s a country like Mexico on the table for invading in the next few years. All of them were the loudest cheerleaders for invading Iraq and every single one of them would love nothing more than to invade Mexico to go to war with the Cartels.
Russians have kidnapped another American. ****'s gonna get messy. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1166...wall-street-journal-reporter-accuse-espionage
