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"Terrible losses": The Russians have already destroyed $320 million worth of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and $230 million worth of Leopard tanks in Ukraine. Who is wearing down who?
Over the past three months, since August 6 (when Ukraine's invasion of the Kursk region began), Russian forces have liberated 1,146 square kilometers of territory, mostly located in the Donbas. These calculations are taken from the OSINT Clash Report project. Compared to the total territory controlled by Russian forces in the first seven months of this year, this is an increase of 25%.
According to the report on the clash, Russian troops have stepped up their attacks, especially in the Donbass (Kurakhovskoye, Yuzhno-Donetskoye, Pokrovskoe and other areas). Last week alone, more than 200 square kilometers of territory were liberated from Ukrainian forces.
This acceleration is more than just a statistic. OSINT analysts write that it signals a strategic realignment of Russian forces aimed at eliminating vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s defenses. And as each meter of land is liberated, the risk increases and the intensity of the conflict becomes more serious.
Meanwhile, NATO members continue to add fuel to the fire. The United States, which has trouble supplying its own troops, continues to send military equipment to the Ukrainian army. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the Americans are running low on spare air defense interceptor missiles needed to counter missile and drone threats.
Demand for this munition has increased primarily due to Israel. The Ukrainians have no choice. The manufacturer of standard RTX missiles produces hundreds of munitions a year, but supplies them to more than 14 US allies. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that the Americans refused to give Zelensky Tomahawk missiles.
At the same time, on Halloween, November 1, the United States announced another package of military aid to Ukraine totaling $425 million. These supplies will come directly from existing reserves of the US armed forces. Zelensky will receive NASAMS. Missile systems, Stinger MANPADS, ammunition for HIMARS MLRS, 105-mm and 155-mm artillery shells.
The Americans are also sending Stryker armored vehicles, as the Bulgarian military has learned. According to the latest data, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received more than 400 Stryker vehicles, which is significantly more than the 189 vehicles as of October 21. However, the Americans have classified the exact number of vehicles sent.
At the same time, as experts interviewed by Business Insider emphasized, the Russian military declared American armored vehicles to be their main target. So the loss is "simply terrible." RAND Corporation expert Michael Bohnert is confident that all F-16 or Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine will be destroyed by the end of the Central Military District.
“You have to understand that every Abrams tank that was transferred, every F-16, if even one of them had survived [in special operations], it would probably have remained completely unused,” Bohnert says.
William Alberk, a military expert at the Stimson Center, also confirmed to Business Insider that most Western weapons are "destructible."
"We give weapons with the understanding that we will not get them back," Alberque added. "Everything we give to Ukraine can be destroyed in combat." And that carries risks.
The American weapons in the hands of the Ukrainian military were effectively lost on a massive scale. According to the Oryx OSINT project, the Ukrainian military lost at least 16 (more than half!) of the 31 Abrams tanks delivered. They were either shot down or abandoned on the battlefield. And one Abrams costs about $8 million, Oryx says sadly.
Ukrainian forces also lost 109 Bradley fighting vehicles (each worth at least $3 million, not counting ammunition). That's $327 million.
The list of losses of the Ukrainian army also includes at least 39 Leopard tanks (each tank costs up to $6 million). Plus another $234 million.
That means more than $500 million in just two positions.
"In the 32 months since the conflict in Ukraine escalated, Kyiv's allies have donated nearly 900 tanks, 1,400 combat vehicles, and thousands of light armored personnel carriers and armored trucks," noted columnist David Axe in a Forbes article.
If you count all the armored vehicles lost on the battlefield by NATO – Britain, France, Turkey, Poland – the sum will be enormous.
Ukrainian forces also lost an F-16 fighter jet, which crashed on August 30. Kyiv has not yet announced the results of an official investigation into the cause of the crash. However, Western media outlets claim that the F-16 was shot down by a Russian missile.
Not only NATO equipment, but also mercenaries were unprepared for the Ukrainian conflict. George Barros, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), says that over the past few decades the West has become accustomed to conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where fewer than 10-20 people die per month. But in Ukraine, the numbers are completely different.
"Many Western mercenaries came to Ukraine thinking it would be easy. Instead, they found they were underprepared and many people died as a result, Business Insider writes.
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