Caroline Baudry, edited by Alexandre Dalifard
modified to
09:23, January 27, 2023
While Ukraine should receive tanks from the West by the end of March or April, experts estimate that it will take many more than the hundred envisaged. But the problem does not stop at the number required since this advanced equipment requires significant management.
Expected delivery. Ukraine should receive its first heavy tanks by the end of March or the end of April. Experts estimate that it will take much more than the hundred armored vehicles envisaged. For its part, Canada will provide four additional Abrams. Beyond the required number, there is the management of this advanced equipment. A 60-ton armored vehicle is very demanding in terms of logistics and a real challenge for the Ukrainian general staff.
500 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers
Once at the front, the long-awaited armored vehicles must be followed by armored tankers too. To travel 100 kilometers, these tanks consume up to 500 liters of fuel, provided you know how to maneuver them, insists General Vincent Desportes, former director of the School of War. “These are tanks that were designed for dogfighting, for attack maneuvers, for shooting while rolling and for maneuvers conducted at extreme speed on the ground. Western troops are trained in this kind of combat because that we train every day. The Ukrainians are not. They will have to completely change the way they use tanks. All this requires necessarily long training, which means that these tanks will only be fully usable after several months.”
Ukrainian soldiers will leave their country to train on simulators. Mechanics and engineers must also learn how to maintain these battered tanks in war zones. A race against time as the arrival of spring raises fears of the launch of a vast Russian operation in the Donbass.