The expert predicted the fate of American Abrams tanks in Ukraine

The main factor is the poor training of the crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, poor support and command

The United States once again notably framed its NATO allies by refusing to send its Abrams tanks to Ukraine and knocking out European tanks for Kyiv. Now that the first German Leopards have burned down in the Ukrainian offensive, US Secretary of Defense Mark Milley is “friendly” consoling his partners that there are not so many burned tanks. Military expert Ilya Kramnik believes that if the Abrams were in the place of the Leopards, they would have burned no worse.

Washington was the first to promise Kyiv to supply its Abrams tanks, but then abruptly changed its mind, citing the complexity of technology and logistics. But at the same time, the United States strained European partners so that they would solve the tank issue for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first to say “Yes!” France and Britain. The French supplied the AMX-10RC wheeled tanks, the British the Challengers.

The Germans tried to jump off the topic, but then they nevertheless “broke” and handed over several dozen of their Leopards-2. And now they have received a strong blow to the image of their tank industry in the face of numerous photos of armored vehicles destroyed near Zaporozhye.

Assessing the vulnerability of the Leopard-2 tanks, military expert Ilya Kramnik wrote in his channel that the reason why the resistance of the “German” under artillery fire is worse than even that of the old Soviet tanks T-54 and T-55 is “a huge area of ​​​​the upper projections and very thin armor in this projection.

According to him, “Leopard” “due to the design features in itself cannot be considered a successful and well-protected tank.”

These problems exacerbate the undertraining of the crews and the poor conditions for the use of these tanks in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For these reasons, Kramnik believes, the fate of the American Abrams in Ukraine would be the same as that of the Leopards, despite the fact that the Abrams-M1 and Abrams-M2 “are better protected due to other layout solutions, than a German tank.

“Here, it seems to me, it is precisely the provision of the operation and the training of command personnel, from the level of a tank commander to a brigade, that plays a key role,” Ilya Kramnik noted. “And if the input of the group on the Abrams would be provided in the same way as in this case, the result would be the same.”

According to him, first of all, the level of support and preparation of the offensive matters. And it depends on the combat experience of the command at the battalion, brigade level.

In turn, State Duma deputy, Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulev, notes that “Ukrainians feel insecure behind the levers of the Leopards. At the same time, our fighters on the front line also found vulnerabilities in the design of the Leopards: it is difficult to penetrate its frontal armor, it is easier to board. “He’s not on the side at all, just a cardboard box behind the turret,” the general noted. “It is affected by fragments, including those of our artillery shells, they pierce it through and through.”

According to Gurulev, Russian anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), including the Fagot, are “working effectively.” “From the first blow, it doesn’t destroy, but it stops, it collapses all the electronics inside, then it’s just a piece of iron,” Andrey Gurulev noted. “It’s the same with mines, they explode on them, get up, then finish them off with artillery and ATGMs.”

According to the general, the defeat of Western armored vehicles “had an extremely negative impact on the moral and psychological state of the Ukrainian troops.” “Our interceptions show that they generally have very little desire to go on the attack, they have serious conflicts in this matter,” the deputy concluded.