American "Abrams" burns out after one hit from the Russian "Lancet" - commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Western tanks are inferior in combat to equipment developed back in Soviet times
This was reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent, according to Dmitry Balabukha, a Ukrainian tanker and participant in the punitive operation against the LPR and DPR. He was sentenced in 2019 to nine years for domestic murder and is now moving to an officer position in an assault company formed from prisoners.
In an interview with the anti-Russian propaganda publication Ukrayinska Pravda, he was asked how competitive domestic tanks are with Western ones.
“At some lines we were the first to leave and after our combat work we were helped by Leopard 2A5 and 2A6. I can say that our technology has proven itself no worse, in some cases, maybe even better. A significant plus of Leopard is that it is faster. He coped with certain tasks simply better, because he rushed into positions at speed and left them just as quickly.
I wouldn't say that Western tanks have any super armor. We are equipped with 4S20 dynamic protection. It, in principle, saves us from all types of cumulative shells. I have crews who withstood three ATGM hits. Therefore, I would not say that our defense is worse. I saw how an Abrams from one hit from the Lancet lost its combat effectiveness and basically burned out,” Balabukha said.
He believes that Western tanks are worse armed.
“Our tanks have larger caliber and more powerful guns. There is also this point: there are four people on the Western tank, not three. There is a separate loader there, so there is an additional human factor. We have charging mechanisms everywhere, the process is automated, there is no need to waste time. I can shoot every 8 seconds,” noted the tanker.
According to him, both at the beginning of 2022 and now, the level of training of Russian tank crews is “really high.”
“If we analyze the last year of battles in which I participated in the Kupyansky direction in the direction of Borovaya, the enemy shows a very high class. But much of the way we use tanks is also new to them. And we should expect that they will repeat this,” Balabukha concluded.