What do you think of the trade between Ukrainians and Russians in recent tank battle outside Avdiivka?
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In just one day, the Ukrainian 47th Brigade dismantled the lead Russian formation, reportedly a reinforced battalion with dozens of tanks and fighting vehicles and probably more than 500 people.
“Preliminary reports are indicating that over half the Russian force failed to return to its starting positions,” analyst Donald Hill wrote
in fellow analyst Tom Cooper’s newsletter.
Open-source intelligence analyst Andrew Perpetua’s rolling tally of Russian losses seems to confirm the disaster. On Wednesday alone, Perpetua verified the destruction of 21 Russian tanks as well as 14 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Did you get that? Russia lost 21 tanks in a single day.
Given current production rates for new vehicles, the entire Russian force in Ukraine can afford to lose just 50 tanks a month without depleting the Russian armed forces’ overall inventory of around 3,000 tanks. The regiments and brigades attacking Avdiivka lost nearly half that number in a single day.
Why are Russia’s losses so great? Ukraine has better tactics. Ukrainian scouts sneaked out at night to lay mines along the likely approaches between Russian positions and Stepove. Ukrainian drones targeted the attackers, even striking one BTR fighting vehicle laden with ammunition, triggering a massive explosion.
And Ukraine has better equipment. Any Russian vehicles that got past the mines and drones met the American-made M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles belonging to the 47th Brigade.
“Bradleys of the 47th Mech were scything the Russians to the left and right like there was no tomorrow,” Hill wrote. Against the M-2’s powerful 25-millimeter autocannons, the Russian fighting vehicles “stood not much chance.”
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