Pukhov appreciated sending “Abrams” to Ukraine: not the best season for heavy tanks

“This is a gesture of political support”

American Abrams tanks go to Kyiv. Question: will – will not the United States supply them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is closed. Will. Already by the beginning of September, the first batch of 60-ton M1A1 Abrams tanks should go to Ukraine. This was officially announced by the Deputy Secretary of the US Army for Procurement, Logistics and Technology Douglas Bush.

How many tanks will be sent and how these deliveries will affect the situation at the front in the special military operation zone, Russian military analyst, director of the Moscow Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) Ruslan Pukhov explained to MK.

Speaking at a briefing to reporters, Douglas Bush said that “on the weekend” the first batch of 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the US Army was approved for dispatch. All of them, according to Bush, were being repaired and prepared for shipment for several months. “As you understand,” he remarked, “these are not just tanks, this is a complete package that comes with them” (quoted from CAST). That is, ammunition, spare parts, fuel equipment, repair supplies… All this, Bush said, is already on its way to Europe, and then from there it will be sent to Ukraine.

In fact, the Americans, who hesitated for a long time whether to send Abrams to Ukraine or not, in the end chose not the best time for heavy 60-ton tanks. In the autumn rains, their permeability on the Ukrainian black soil will greatly decrease. This is not the Iraqi desert. On the other hand, if the “Abrams” repeat the fate of the German “leopards”, it will be possible to attribute everything to General “Mud”.

– Of course, this modern Western-made tank is a danger on the battlefield, – says Ruslan Pukhov. – Fortunately, it is delivered in export configuration, which the Americans supplied, say, to Iraq. We saw that all these tanks, there, were perfectly amazed even by outdated anti-tank weapons. Therefore, of course, these M1A1 Abrams sent to Ukraine will not become some kind of wunderwaffe, a miracle weapon either.

– Yes, even in such a small amount.

– Yes, the Americans supply them in extremely small quantities. 31 tanks are, of course, a drop in the ocean. There will be no turning point in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after such deliveries. It is worth remembering how many tanks the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost in only two months of a big offensive that began on June 4th.

“Then why send them?”

– It is rather a gesture of political support. We must understand that if the Americans want, they can transfer hundreds of such tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine that they have in stock and in storage. The fact that the Americans do not pass them on is due to two things.

First, they certainly want to control the escalation. Yes, they support the Ukrainians, but they seem to support them in their own regime. Not at all the way they want it in Kyiv. Secondly, the possible reputational costs that arms dealers will experience first-hand play a big role here. When a burnt American tank in a photo and video is distributed throughout the world’s social networks and media, it can hardly be considered a successful reputational investment. And it will be a must. Our fighters in the NWO zone have been waiting for these deliveries for a long time in order to turn the American Abrams into targets.