Ukrainian offensive in Kursk sees heavy losses in Western armor

The Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region has its costs. American media suggest this can be seen, for example, in the armored vehicles, which the Ukrainians are losing at twice the rate of the defending Russians.

Journalists from "Forbes" have reached this conclusion by citing data from an Oryx analyst. This data indicates that in the first nine days of the invasion, Ukrainians lost at least four tanks and over 40 different types of armored vehicles. The losses include not just older Soviet-era designs but also Western equipment. This resulted from deploying some elite Ukrainian brigades with NATO-supplied equipment to the Kursk region.

Among the Western vehicles hit by the Russians are primarily American Stryker transporters, used by units such as the 80th Air Assault Brigade.

They are equipped with a transport compartment that can hold up to nine soldiers. The armament includes a Browning M2 machine gun with a caliber of 12.7 mm and a range of about 1.2 miles, as well as an Mk 19 grenade launcher with a caliber of 40 mm. The Stryker is an 8x8 wheeled vehicle with a 350 HP engine, allowing it to reach speeds up to 56 mph.

The Russians have also captured a Stryker vehicle. The list of equipment destroyed by them also includes a Polish PT-91 Twardy tank, which was likely taken out by a Russian Lancet-3 drone.

The PT-91 Twardy is a deep modernization of the Soviet T-72. Ukraine received dozens of PT-91 Twardy tanks from Poland and highly valued them, noting they are noticeably better and more durable than their Soviet predecessors. Key improvements include the ERAWA reactive armor and a better engine.

In the clashes in the Kursk region, the Ukrainians also deployed Marder infantry fighting vehicles received from Germany. On August 15, Sky News reported that the Ukrainian army was also using Challenger 2 tanks supplied by the United Kingdom in their ongoing offensive. Based on these reports, Russian propagandists posted photos on social media allegedly showing the destruction of such a tank in the Kursk region. However, the images were so narrowly cropped that they do not constitute incontrovertible proof.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, only one Challenger 2 has been confirmed destroyed. This happened in September 2023, marking a significant success for the Russians, as no one had previously managed to eliminate this tank during military operations. The British tank is distinguished primarily by its multi-layered Chobham/Dorchester armor and the rifled L30A1 120mm gun.