60 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from Croatia: Forbes analyzed how this equipment will help Ukraine
Date: 2024-10-29 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: MILITARY ASSISTANCE
The Ukrainian army command is desperately trying to withdraw exhausted brigades from the front line. At the same time, Ukraine is also trying to provide new brigades with enough armored vehicles so that the military does not become just cannon fodder for the invaders, Forbes writes.
The publication noted that the German Leopard 1A5 and Leopard 2A4 tanks, which arrived late, as well as new equipment from the United States, France and Australia, helped Ukraine in this.
In particular, Ukrainian fighters are in dire need of armored vehicles, so it is good news for them that Croatia has decided to replace its fleet of old tanks and combat vehicles from the Cold War. The Croatian government has agreed to sell 30 old M-84 tanks and 30 old M-80 combat vehicles to the German government, which will then transfer these vehicles to Ukraine.
"The 46-ton M-84 is the Yugoslav version of the Soviet T-72. The 15-ton M-80 was the Yugoslav answer to the Soviet BMP-1. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have hundreds of T-72s and BMP-1s in service, so they will be able to integrate the M-84s and M-80s without any problems," Forbes explained.
The publication noted that with the equipment that Croatia plans to transfer, Ukraine could provide two battalions or half a brigade. In particular, Ukrainian officials previously stated that they would reorganize the new 156th Infantry Brigade into a mechanized brigade.
"The 156th Mechanized Brigade is one of 14 new 2,000-strong brigades recently formed in the Ukrainian Ground Forces - at least 10 of them are subordinate to the Ground Forces. Most of these new army brigades, which were formed in the 1950s, started out as infantry brigades that lacked heavy weapons," the article recalled.
It is known that a Ukrainian mechanized brigade usually has 31 tanks and 93 combat vehicles. However, ten mechanized brigades already require 310 tanks and 930 combat vehicles. At the same time, back in September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that his government could not provide heavy weapons even for four of the 14 new brigades.
In turn, Ukraine also produces some new vehicles, namely, they modernize old ones with additional armor and better fire control systems. However, most of the equipment still comes from allies. In particular, during the full-scale war, Kyiv's partners promised to provide about 900 tanks and 1,400 combat vehicles, as well as thousands of light armored personnel carriers and armored trucks.
"But the Ukrainians have lost almost as much armor as they received from their allies: 900 tanks and 1,400 combat vehicles. This means that Ukraine could produce enough armor to keep its old ground combat brigades - about 100 - in full combat readiness. But it is trying to produce equipment for any new brigades it forms," Forbes noted.
However, Ukraine cannot refuse to form new brigades, because many of the Ukrainian military have been fighting constantly since the full-scale Russian invasion, so they are tired, and such exhaustion can have very bad consequences.
"Take the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which held out in the fortress city of Ugledar in the south of Donetsk Oblast for two years without significant reinforcements, until it finally broke under continuous attacks from large Russian units and retreated on October 1. The retreat led to a larger-scale collapse of Ukrainian positions in the south of Donetsk Oblast," the article added.
Therefore, taking advantage of the exhaustion of the Ukrainian army, the Russian occupiers are doubling their attacks, advancing in several critical areas of the front, and new Ukrainian brigades, including the 156th, cannot arrive to help quickly enough, Forbes concluded.
