Kiev soldiers await the arrival of Western tanks and fight daily with often defective Soviet-designed vehicles.
After being warmed up for a good five minutes, the tank can start. This machine is one of the three Soviet T64s in Igor’s unit, hidden behind a hillock four or five kilometers from the Russian positions, in eastern Ukraine. “These are machines from the 70s. They often break down”regrets Igor, who believes that he “wouldn’t have enough four hours to list all the possible failures”.
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While nine countries, including Poland, Germany and the United States, have pledged to quickly deliver tanks to Ukraine, expectations are high in the Donbass. For several months, Ukraine has been on the defensive and its troops are resisting with often obsolete equipment.
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On the Vuhledar front where the largest tank brigade of the Ukrainian army is located, the 1st separate brigade of Siversk, Igor makes this observation: he has been working for four years with the T64 tank and “there is not a single day when there has not been something to fix”. He cites an example that marked him, it was February 24: “On the day of the invasion, when we drove towards the Belarusian border to stop the enemy. We arrived and my tank broke down. There were leaks everywhere. It worked for 40 kilometers and it broke.”
“Comparing a T64 and a Western tank is like comparing a Lada and a Mercedes”
Igor, Ukrainian soldierat franceinfo
The tank repair shop is set up under some trees at the end of a muddy path. The mechanics permanently dismantle the wrecks to consolidate the machines that are still usable. Western deliveries are highly anticipated in the Ukrainian ranks. For the American Abrams tanks, it will still have to wait, while the first formations of soldiers are ending in Germany and Spain. A hundred men from the brigade are currently in training in Germany. Brigade press officer Orest Firmaniuk believes that“you have to keep a coherent fleet of tanks to be able to remain effective on the battlefield”.
“With several suppliers, we would be obliged for each type of machine to organize a specific management of spare parts, with stocks, ammunition and personnel trained to repair and use them” develops Orest Firmaniuk who notes the specificity of each type of tanks, “The Abrams are different from the Leopards and if there is too much variety in a brigade, it can be so complicated that we could lose efficiency”. Orest Firmaniuk hopes for the first tank deliveries before the summer, 150 Leopard 2 tanks are expected.