Three out of six Leopard 2R
Ukraine loses rare special vehicles in the attack
12/06/2023 09:54 AM
During a failed breakthrough attempt in southern Ukraine, Kiev forces lost some special vehicles, including three Leopard 2R mine-clearing armored vehicles. Finland delivered a total of six copies to Ukraine.
According to a media report, Ukrainian engineering units from the 33rd Mechanized Brigade and 47th Assault Brigade suffered heavy losses in the Zaporizhia region last week. As the American magazine “Forbes” wrote with reference to the Russian drone footage, at least five private cars were lost Thursday morning south of the village of Mala Tokmachka. Accordingly, there are three Leopard 2Rs from Finland, a Soviet-made IMR-2 and a German Bergepanzer 2.
The loss of the Leopard 2R, of which Ukraine received six copies, will probably be painful. The Leopard 2R is a heavy mine clearance vehicle developed by the Finnish defense company Patria. The Leopard 2A4 main battle tank serves as the basis. According to Forbes, the Finnish Armed Forces were unhappy with the Leopard 2R because the tank struggled with Finland’s rocky terrain. For this reason, the government in Helsinki decided to hand over all six available Leopard 2Rs to Ukraine as weapons.
It was not clear if the vehicles were destroyed by mines or airstrikes. Frontal assaults on enemy fortifications are usually among the most difficult and potentially costly operations in land warfare, notes Forbes. Even the best equipped armies would have to afford to lose about half of their attack power if they succeeded in breaking through. Even if Ukraine loses all of its Leopard 2Rs, Forbes does not assume that the Ukrainian counterattack will stop because Kiev still has other mine-clearing vehicles.
The report stated that the sector south of Mala Tokmachka is of strategic importance. The village is located about 40 kilometers north of the Tokmak transport hub, where main roads lead to Melitopol and Berdyansk on the Sea of ​​Azov. Forbes speculates that if Ukrainian forces could penetrate the minefields south of Mala Tokmachka and advance towards Melitopol, it could cut the Russian forces in two.
