European media analyzed the losses of foreign tanks in Ukraine and concluded that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have lost nearly half of their foreign armored “monsters.”
The Russian army either destroyed or damaged twelve of the 21 Leopard 2A6 tanks it received from Germany and Portugal, or the Ukrainian tank crews abandoned them.
A similar fate befell 21 out of 40 Leopard 2A4 tanks supplied by Spain, Canada, Poland, and Norway.
The AFU had 31 American Abrams tanks, but thirteen have already been put out of action or abandoned on the battlefield.
General Jeffrey Norman, responsible for the U.S. Army’s tank modernization program, attempted to explain: “The Abrams is exceptionally well-protected against direct fire from other combat vehicles but was not designed to defend against attacks from above, such as anti-tank guided missiles or kamikaze drones.”
Swedish Stridsvagn 122 tanks suffered the most, with 7 out of 10 units abandoned, damaged, or destroyed.
The British Challenger 2 tanks fared the best. Only two of the 14 machines suffered destruction, and that’s largely due to the AFU keeping them out of direct combat zones.
The British tanks frequently become stuck in the mud due to their heavy weight. As of April 2024, only half of the Challengers were operational.
