LEOPARD tanks and breakdowns: where the Armed Forces will be able to get Soviet armored vehicles - Defense Express
Thanks to this, they overcome the tank deficit, despite the loss of Western LEOPARD 2 tanks, which are repaired for nine months and for which there is neither infrastructure nor spare parts. Defense Express experts have told about possible ways of overcoming military equipment deficits. Experts have explained that there are three problems with the supply of tanks today. First, there are just little. Secondly, they are repaired for too long.
Third, manufacturers from Western countries are not able to produce so many armored vehicles that it is enough for a Russian-Ukrainian war. In this case, Ukraine can pay attention to Soviet tanks - to buy from the countries that have been purchased during the USSR and left in their original state or modernized. The article lists eight countries on the portal where you can buy Soviet tanks (or spare parts), and wrote what additional problems can occur at the time of purchase.
Morocco-Spare for T-72B tanks bought the US government in 2022. In addition, in January 2023 it became known about 20 cars that were restored at the Excalibur Army plant in the Czech Republic and already sent to Ukraine. It should be noted that in Morocco, according to the directory of The Military Balance 2023, there were 40 working tanks of the T-72B and 60 more-on storage. That is, another 20 workers remain. Algeria-has 325 T-72B and more than 600 T-90sa.
Experts note that Ukraine is unlikely to buy part of this tank park in 925 cars, as this African country is still working closely with the Russian Federation, in particular - buys weapons and military equipment. Congo and other unnamed African countries are either too few tanks (10 on the country), or are known to seem to be 100 cars (Congo), but they can only be "on paper". Kuwait has 75 T-72 tanks (Yugoslav modification called M-84), and another 75 is stored.
A good relationship with the United States hopes that some of these cars can receive the Armed Forces. For example, the portal provides information from the Serbian media, where they write about the repair of 100 tanks in Croatia to provide them with Ukraine. Croatia also has M-84 tanks (T-72 spans). The estimated number is 74 working units. Ukraine will receive them when the United States will give the country an appropriate amount of Leopard 2.
Cyprus had 82 T-80U tanks and planned to exchange them for Merkava (Mark II and Mark III). However, after the attack of Hamas terrorists on Israel, the exchange has not taken place, so the T-80U will still stand in Cyprus. Pakistan owns a tank park in 2,500 cars, experts reported. Of this amount, 315 are Ukrainian T-80ud (the rest-mostly Chinese). As early as March 2023, there were negotiations on "returning home" 40 tons of 80ud, but the situation was never resolved.
India is the owner of more than 3 700 tanks, 2,500 of them are T-72 tanks, 1 200-T-90s. In addition, for storage-another 1 300 T-90. These tanks for Ukraine are also unattainable, while India cooperates with Russia, experts said. Defense Express summed up that around 6,700 Soviet tanks of different modifications were really scattered around the world: T-72, M-84, T-82U, T-80ud, T-90.
But Ukraine will not be able to reach them all: the opportunity depends on the cooperation of the US countries with the US or "friendship" with Russia. It should be noted that the results of the Ramstein-18 contact group meeting, Ukraine will soon receive long-range missiles, shells of various calibers, helicopters and armored vehicles, as well as installations and air defense missiles.
At the same time, the Pentagon stressed that because of the lack of funding, everything that the United States can do is teach the Ukrainian military. Meanwhile, experts have analyzed long -range missiles that can be obtained from partners. They found that they can get to the Crimean bridge, but will not be able to fly, for example, to the oil refinery near St. Petersburg.