Ukraine has lost only 5 Leopard 2 tanks out of 71 in 13 weeks – Forbes
The American publication Forbes has calculated how many Leopard 2 tanks Ukraine has lost on the battlefield.
Thus, in the 13 weeks since the start of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have destroyed only 5 tanks out of 71 available. At least 10 other tanks were damaged and are being repaired. The damaged tanks are being repaired in Poland and Germany. According to Ukrainian servicemen, repaired tanks are returned to the battlefield, and in case of damage, they are sent back for repair, and so on in a circle.
A consortium of NATO countries, including Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, have pledged to provide Ukraine with 10 Strv 122s – Swedish modifications of the Leopard 2A5, 21 Leopard 2A6, and 74 Leopard 2A4. All of these tanks, except for 14 A4, have already arrived at the front. To date, five destroyed tanks have been written off: two A4 and three A6. No Strv 122s have been confirmed downed.
All of these losses occurred in a 25-square-mile square, from Mala Tokmachka in the north to Robotyno in the south.
Most likely, the crews of these five destroyed tanks (20 people in total) managed to leave the vehicles and survived. After all, the Leopard 2 is designed in such a way that when hit, the ammunition compartment explodes outward, away from the crew. In Russian tanks, it’s the other way around: ammunition is stored under the turret, so when it explodes, it flies up into the sky with the turret and three crew members.
While 10 tanks are being repaired, the Ukrainian Armed Forces still have more than 50 active Leopard 2s out of the 71 units that were part of the original batch. More Western-made tanks are on the way.
