Ukraine has lost only 5 Leopard 2 tanks out of 71 in 13 weeks - Forbes

The US publication Forbes has calculated how many Leopard 2 tanks Ukraine has lost on the battlefield.

Here's What We Know

So, in the 13 weeks since the beginning of the counter-offensive, the AFU has destroyed only 5 tanks out of 71 available. At least 10 more of these tanks have been damaged and are being repaired. The damaged tanks are being repaired in Poland and Germany. According to Ukrainian servicemen, the repaired tanks are returned to the battlefield, if damaged they are again sent for repair, and so on in a circle.

A consortium of NATO countries, which includes Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, have together pledged to provide Ukraine with 10 Strv 122s - Swedish modifications of the Leopard 2A5, 21 Leopard 2A6s and 74 Leopard 2A4s. All of these tanks, except for 14 A4s, have already arrived at the front. To date, 5 destroyed tanks have been written off: two A4s and three A6s. None of the destroyed Strv 122's have been confirmed.

All these losses occurred in a 25 square mile square - from Mala Tokmachka in the north to Robotino in the south.

Most likely, the crews of these five destroyed tanks (20 men in total) managed to leave the vehicles and survived. After all, the Leopard 2 is designed so that when hit, the ammunition compartment explodes outwards, away from the crew. In Russian tanks it is the opposite: ammunition is stored under the turret, so when it explodes, it explodes together with the turret and three crew members into the sky.

While 10 tanks are being repaired, the AFU still has more than 50 active Leopard 2s in service, out of the 71 that were part of the original batch. More Western-made tanks are on the way.

Source: Forbes