Ukrainian tank crews ‘mostly surviving Russian strikes’

Western officials say Ukrainian troops can mostly survive mine blasts and artillery attacks in their NATO-made gear because of the “high survivability” of the armor. It also emerged that Ukraine had not yet used most of its Western tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, including the British-supplied Challenger II.

Officials echoed what The National reported earlier this week, saying Russian forces “put up good resistance” and fell back before launching a well-coordinated counterattack. “This maneuver defense approach is challenging, so progress is currently slow,” the source said. “The situation in the southern sectors remains very confused.”

Pictures on social media showed Ukrainian armored personnel carriers, including Leopard 2 tanks, lost to mines and artillery fire, but the crew mostly survived. Putin’s surprise admission that he had lost 54 Russian tanks in the past two weeks was “fairly accurate” in a rare revelation of battlefield casualties, he said. The Ukrainians still have 12 of their combat brigades in reserve and will be committed to the fight if a breakthrough is achieved.

The Russian air force, which was distinctly absent during the conflict, “swelled” over the southern area, where the Ukrainians sometimes push beyond the air defense bubble. “This area is more permissive for Russian aircraft than other parts of the country and is a short transit time from air bases in Crimea,” the official said. But a high fly-in rate would cause problems in the long run, “because they won’t be able to sustain the climb due to service friendliness and pilot fatigue.”

The Ukrainians are currently moving through well-protected Russian lines, but have not yet reached the main defense belt, which is 20 km inside the occupied territory. But it was unclear how many troops the Russians would need to man the defense lines if they were reached.