US Says Half Russian Main Tanks Destroyed or Captured in Ukraine

WASHINGTON DC, KOMPAS.com – The US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, said that half of Russia’s main tanks may have been destroyed or captured by Ukraine.

Wallander mentioned it in the Center for a New American Security virtual event, Friday (10/2/2023).

“(Russia) may have lost half of its main battle tank stock in the fighting and because of the capture of Ukraine,” he said, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Also read: Ukraine Receives Western Tanks, Russia Prepares to Deploy Combat Robots

However, Wallander did not give an exact figure for the number of Russian tank losses.

Wallander’s forecast comes when Ukraine will receive an influx of Western heavy tanks from its allies.

Also read:

Britain says Challenger 2 tanks will be deployed in Ukraine in March 2023.

Then, Germany and its allies will send a battalion of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv in April 2023.

The United States has also pledged a battalion — or 31 units — of its M1 Abrams tanks, but this is expected to take significantly longer to arrive.

Also read: This is the meaning of the Z symbol on Russian tanks during the invasion of Ukraine

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