Thin armor costs lives
Commander: French armored personnel carriers unsuitable for front
07/02/2023 06:28 p.m
During their counter-offensive, Ukrainian units come under heavy fire. French armored personnel carriers seem to be overwhelmed by Russian mortar shells and artillery shells. Other Western devices, on the other hand, save lives.
Apparently, the Ukrainian army is dissatisfied with the AMX-10 RC infantry fighting vehicle from France. A battalion commander told the AFP news agency that the gun was good, but the highly mobile, sometimes referred to as “light” tanks were “not suitable” for attacks, like the British one “Guardians” reported. With their thin armor, the vehicles could therefore be used in support, but not in the front line.
“Unfortunately, there was already a case in which a crew of four died in the vehicle,” the commander explained the problem. “There was artillery fire, a shell exploded near the vehicle. The fragments penetrated the armor, then the ammunition in the vehicle detonated.”
Other Western troop carriers and tanks, such as the American Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, which regularly comes into contact with Russian troops during the Ukrainian counter-offensive, are much better suited for use at the front. So were according to the Dutch portal oryx, which documents Ukrainian and Russian materiel losses and verifies them with available imagery, has already destroyed or damaged 25 Bradley tanks in Russian attacks over the past few weeks and abandoned them. However, the most important weapon system on board the vehicles seemed to have survived in many cases, as described by military observers: the Ukrainian soldiers.
“A perfect vehicle”
After Russia aggressively advertised images of several destroyed Bradley and Leopard tanks in early June, Ukrainian soldiers recently said they would probably not be alive without the Western vehicles. “We were hit several times,” admitted an affected Bradley driver a few days ago ABC News on record. “If we were driving a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle, we would probably all be dead and I wouldn’t be standing here anymore. The Bradley is a perfect vehicle.”
The American infantry fighting vehicle was first hit by a mortar shell and then by two artillery shells during a Ukrainian attack on Russian positions. “Almost all of us had concussions and were disoriented. But we made it out and were able to get to safety,” says the Ukrainian driver.
A few days ago, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov confirmed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is currently “in a kind of preparatory phase” and that the current fighting is about saving as many soldiers’ lives as possible for the main attack – unlike Russia, which willingly sends his troops to the meat grinder, as Resnikov explained.