The updated Leopard tank did not survive the first battle in Ukraine

“The Germans hoped that it would last a year or two, not two weeks.”

The “premiere” of the modernized German tank “Leopard-1A5” as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction failed miserably. Our artillery hit the German “miracle”, and the Ukrainian tank crews had to flee, according to tradition. Military expert Yuri Knutov, in a conversation with MK, explained the successful destruction of the “wunderwaffe” by the appearance in our troops of special units that are “tailored” to the destruction of Western equipment.

Video evidence of the destruction of the first Leopard tank “Leopard” series 1A5 of those supplied to Kyiv by Germany has appeared on social networks. It is reported that the tank was immobilized east of the village of Vishnevoye after our soldiers damaged its left track. Thus, the most modern NATO tank, Leopard 1A5, lasted in the Northern Military District zone for only a few weeks and “died” almost in the first battle.

According to military expert Yuri Kuntov, an updated version of the Leopard-1 was shot down near Kupyansk.

“Before this, Leopards-1 were really not used on Kupyansky,” says the expert. – The Armed Forces of Ukraine began to use them because there is a wooded area, in which conditions there is the possibility of camouflage. In addition, there is sandy soil, and not soggy black soil, in which heavy Leopards get stuck.

By the way, the modification of the Leopard that was transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces has already been withdrawn from service in Germany. The Germans no longer use machines of this kind. They have extremely weak armor and many other disadvantages. Therefore, they were transferred en masse to Ukraine, according to the principle “on you, God, that is of no use to me.”

According to Knutov, by the beginning of spring 2023, a whole series of tank destroyer units had been specially created in our army. They have undergone special training and know how to destroy absolutely all Western vehicles – from Leopards and Challengers to Abrams, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not yet risk rolling out to the front line.

“The fighters of this unit were specially trained to destroy Western equipment,” says Yuri Knutov. “They told them which points on the tank’s hull were most vulnerable, what weapons to use against this or that vehicle.

Therefore, the effectiveness of these groups of tank destroyers is very high. Of course, when this tank first appeared in the Kupyansk direction, it was naturally discovered and destroyed, there is nothing surprising in that. For the West, this is a sensation, because they believed that tanks of this kind would serve for more than one month, and perhaps more than one year. But it turned out that it lasted no more than two weeks in the Ukrainian troops… We are ready for the appearance of this kind of equipment. It is nothing special – it has no dynamic protection, no special anti-cumulative shields, no protection from drones in the form of “barbecues”. Therefore, it is easily destroyed.

According to another military expert, Stanislav Krapivnik, who once served in the American army, the updated Leopard that was knocked out near Kupyansk is a tank from the Cold War era, that is, the 90s.

“Yes, there are modernized computer systems, an updated gun, but in any case, it’s an old tank,” says Wren. – The tank’s armor is steel; the Germans don’t have anything composite at all. So this tank is nothing supernatural. It is no better than the T-72.

They are now being transferred to Ukraine, because the German concern Rheinmetall has accumulated a lot of these tanks, and they need to be disposed of. But according to local German laws, which were promoted by the “greens,” it is very expensive to dispose of tanks; it is much more profitable to send them to Ukraine. The fact that the tank crew escaped is not surprising. This has already become a habit. And this is an indicator of the moral and psychological state of the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers. They don’t stick to cars, don’t fight over cars, don’t use them as long-term firing points, but simply run away. This is good for us, let them run.