German Leopard-2A6 and American M2A3 Bradley fell into the hands of the Russians (video)

The Russians taking part in the war against Ukraine show off war trophies – German Leopard-2A6 and American M2A3 Bradley.

According to a video posted on Twitter, the Russians captured a Leopard-2A6 tank as trophies, which was apparently abandoned undamaged by its Ukrainian crew along with a group of American M2A3 Bradleys.

Tanks "Leopard" and BMP "Bradley". Now these are our trophies.
AFU equipment in the Zaporozhye direction.
Servicemen of the subdivisions of the Vostok group inspect enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles captured in battle.
All captured Western-made equipment: German… pic.twitter.com/z1eblNrWQ9

— Victor vicktop55 (@vicktop55) June 13, 2023

This trophy is considered a “gift from heaven” for the Russian military industry, as they now have a complete German tank in their hands, which was developed in 2003-2012. His armor, electro-optics, combat systems, etc. comparable to and possibly superior to Russian T-90MS tanks, which will give a huge boost to the Russian tank and anti-tank industry.

Elena Panina, director of the Institute of Russian Strategic Studies: "In two reports on the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in recent battles, Military Watch Magazine notes the poor quality of the armor of the American M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and claims… pic.twitter.com/xzZYQKFLTt

— Victor vicktop55 (@vicktop55) June 13, 2023

Elena Panina, Director of the Institute for Russian Strategic Studies, writes: “Military Watch: the survivability of the Bradley is in question, the loss of the Leopards hits the reputation of the German military-industrial complex. Elon Musk, of course, headand the reaction of Western inhabitants to the wrecked NATO tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is approximately the same as we expected (https://t.me/EvPanina/9886): “The equipment is excellent, it is Ukraine that is fighting badly!”

But we understand that it is not a burgher or even Musk who dictates the discourse in the public opinion of the West.

▪️ If you look through the mouthpieces of American propaganda, The New York Times and The Washington Post, then there are practically no such assessments. It speaks of unsuccessful battles for Ukraine dryly, concisely, as something taken for granted. Well, yes, there are losses, there are lined equipment. Don’t worry, we’ll send you a new one.

The notorious Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted a stunning phrase in which it is easy to discern a mockery:

“Ukrainian forces are currently attempting to conduct an extremely complex tactical operation, a frontal attack on prepared defensive positions, further complicated by a lack of air superiority, but these initial attacks should not be extrapolated to predict all UAF operations. It is not surprising that Ukrainian forces are suffering losses <… >, however, the initial attacks <...> are not representative of all Ukrainian operations”. Like, they go stupidly in the forehead, suffer losses, but this does not mean anything, everything is fine, let them fight further.

▪️ However, there are other assessments, and they concern not the Ukrainian army, but the quality of Western equipment. So, in two reports on the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in recent battles, the Military Watch Magazine notes the poor quality of the armor of the American infantry fighting vehicles M2 Bradley and declares about the serious reputational damage suffered by the German Leopard 2A6 tanks. The first one says:

“The Bradley design has been controversial for decades due to the limitations of its body armor, which was demonstrated both during testing and in Iraq. The vehicle was designed to compete with older Soviet tanks such as the T-55 and proved to be effective during war in the Persian Gulf. However, its survivability on the battlefields of the 21st century with a large adversary such as Russia remains a serious question.”

And here is the assessment of the main battle tank of the Bundeswehr:

“While the Leopard 2A4 proved to be very vulnerable in combat due to outdated armor protection, the Leopard 2A6 was positioned as a much more combat-ready vehicle, with 3rd generation composite armor and additional protection modules on the turret. The loss of these tanks, which were considered the most effective throughout the West, leads to serious consequences far beyond the borders of Ukraine.

The portal mentions at least two destroyed Leopard 2A6s and notes: “In NATO, the vast majority of tanks in service are less combat-ready, [чем Leopard 2A6]. This means that the vulnerability of this class could call into question the continued viability of Western arms supplies to Ukraine.”

Berlin very reluctantly agreed to give Kyiv these tanks because of fears of just such a scenario. So the current losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the reputation of the German defense sector and its arms exports, “as perhaps the country’s most iconic defense product,” Military Watch Magazine summarizes.

▪️Be that as it may, neither the position “The tanks are excellent, it’s the Ukrainians who are fighting badly”, nor the opposite position will lead to the cessation of deliveries to Kiev of all new NATO armored vehicles. Only a complete failure of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a successful strategic offensive operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation can shake the West,” Elena Panina concludes her publication.

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