Ukraine Loses U.K.-Supplied Tank in Push for Counteroffensive Breakthrough

livemint.com:

Russian forces struck and immobilized a British tank supplied to Ukrainian forces for the first time as Kyiv pushes some of its best equipment into a salient in the southeast in search of a breakthrough. The loss of the Challenger 2 tank, confirmed by British officials, comes as Ukraine is seeking to expand cracks in the main Russian defensive line.

But multilayered defenses remain a major challenge for Ukraine’s counteroffensive momentum. After penetrating the main defensive line in the country’s southeast last month, the Ukrainian military is seeking to widen the gap into a corridor for Western-supplied armored vehicles to push through.

This approach builds on weeks of small-unit infantry assaults, which followed heavy losses of vehicles in the early massed-formation attacks by Ukraine. Losses have been smaller in recent weeks as the Ukrainian military sought to preserve its armor for a potential breakthrough.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a defense consultant and former British tank commander, said that the damaged vehicle could likely be repaired and put back into action, because its hull, turret and gun barrier appeared to be intact. “Mines are still the big issue and hence the slow passage of the offensive," he said.

“But when they achieve a breakthrough in all lines of defense I expect the tank will really come into its own to rout the enemy with its firepower and mobility." Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, said the tank was struck on Tuesday near Robotyne, a village recently recaptured by the Ukrainians in the southeast. A video of the Challenger 2 that was posted on social media, showing the tank in flames and enveloped in dark smoke, was verified by The Wall Street