Lithuania fleeted German tanks for the war in Ukraine. Now there should also be a new fighting group. The only thing missing is the crews.
Vilnius – Steel and rubber have been completely renewed, the electronics replaced – the major inspection has apparently been completed: As the Lithuanian Defense Ministry reports, the Lithuanian armed forces, in cooperation with the German arms industry, have now repaired some Leopard 2 tanks from combat operations in Ukraine. After their technical capabilities are restored, the tanks return to the Ukrainian War. The fact that the NATO partner from the Baltics repaired the large German device was apparently a question of price – the originally planned workshops in Poland were probably too expensive.
In July she had Agence France Press (AFP) reported on the dispute between the NATO partners. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) had urged Poland to hurry up to set up a repair center for the Leopard 2 main battle tanks used against Russia. Due to its proximity to the Ukrainian border, Poland seemed ideal for the pit stop. Pistorius and his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak are said to have agreed on the construction of the repair center as early as April. Leopard battle tanks from Germany and Poland, which are used by Ukraine in the fight against Vladimir Putin's invading army, were to be repaired there.
He explained the slow progress of the talks between the two defense ministers Mirror with overpriced ideas from the Poles: “For example, the tank manufacturer PGZ wanted to charge more than 100,000 euros for an initial inspection; in Germany, manufacturers charge around 12,000 euros for such an initial damage diagnosis.”
First, Pistorius gave the Poles a deadline to cooperate, but then prematurely buried the cooperation, as was the case first Handelsblatt had reported – with reference to a statement from the German Ministry of Defense, “that modern Leopard tanks of the type 2 A5 and 2 A6 are now to be repaired in Germany and probably also in Lithuania. Repair work on these models could begin as soon as the Ukrainian armed forces indicate the need for repairs, a spokesman said.
Lithuania is Pistorius' strongest partner against Putin's troops
Only negotiations over the repair of Leopard-2 A4 main battle tanks were still ongoing at the time. The Handelsblatt calculated that a few hundred hours of work would be needed to repair each Leopard 2 and that the federal government would have had to calculate an invoice in the three-digit million range for the entire tank fleet delivered – in Lithuania. In Poland the price would definitely have been higher.
Apparently the screwdrivers from Lithuania are more customer-friendly, as their Ministry of Defense reports. Tanks are repaired in Lithuania by the Lithuania Defense Services (LDS) company. This is a joint venture founded in Lithuania in 2022 by Europe's two largest military equipment manufacturers – the German companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann – and which supplies weapons to NATO countries. This joint company is intended for the maintenance and repair of combat vehicles of the NATO allies in use in the region of the Baltic Sea states.
In any case, love now seems to be blazing hot between Germany and the Baltic state: The Lithuanian defense minister is currently publishing Germany's now official commitment to station a heavy brigade in Lithuania with three maneuver battalions and all the necessary resources, including combat support and supply units. The brigade will consist of existing and newly formed units. The 203rd Panzer Battalion from North Rhine-Westphalia and the 122nd Panzergrenadier Battalion from Bavaria are relocated to Lithuania. The NATO offensive forces battle group currently stationed in Lithuania will be converted into a multinational battalion and thus an integral part of the brigade. In addition to effective maintenance capacities, NATO will also maintain powerful combat units in Lithuania.
Leopard: As sensitive to tactical errors as it is to enemy fire
The federal government has so far sent a total of 48 Leopard main battle tanks for use by Ukraine – 30 of which are Leopard 1 A5 and 18 Leopard 2 A6 main battle tanks, each with ammunition and spare parts. The steel reinforcements from the West are as sensitive to operational errors by their own crew or tactical mistakes by the Ukrainian leadership as they are to a Russian missile or mine. The German Leopard 2 is built so modularly that a complete engine change in the field can be done within two hours; However, the high-tech car is just one piece of the puzzle in Ukraine's fleet.
And the Russians are throwing everything they have at him. The images from the beginning of the Ukrainian war with many wrecks of T-tanks result from Russian tank doctrine: T-tanks are not built for quick repairs. If the front is advanced, as the Russians had planned before the invasion of Ukraine, damaged T-tanks would be gradually collected again and then calmly repaired. If any. The West tanks, on the other hand, are too valuable to leave behind.
Nevertheless, the military had already seen no reason for euphoria at the beginning of the Western tank deliveries: “Brisk statements about a strategic turn in the war, which should force 90 Leopards and 60 other Western battle tanks as well as a few dozen combat aircraft in conjunction with the remaining Ukrainian forces by the summer, appear in view of this the current comparison of forces is very optimistic,” wrote Colonel a. at the beginning of the year. D. Wolfgang Richter in the Berlin newspaper. This is how the situation at the front ultimately developed.
According to Richter, technical comparisons between western and eastern tanks are largely obsolete; the weaknesses would be quickly discovered anyway if operations by armored units could not be carried out on a broad front, but in narrow corridors of minefields. Western tanks could only withstand fire from rocket artillery or drones for a limited time. After all, they are more resistant to total failure, but repairs are also costly and time-consuming – especially for a warring party with limited resources.
Idle: Ukraine apparently lacks tank crews for the counteroffensive
According to the magazine Forbes Ukraine is currently rolling out a new tank brigade to the front; Forbes counts the fifth overall. A brigade consists of between 5,000 and 6,000 soldiers. The main weapon system of a German armored brigade – for example the Panzerbrigade 21 from North Rhine-Westphalia – is between 40 and 50 Leopard 2 A6M main battle tanks. There are also around 50 armored personnel carriers for the infantry support forces. Forbes but doubts the effectiveness of the new formation given the current situation on the front: “Adding a new tank brigade and five new and previously underequipped mechanized brigades is unlikely to provide enough combat power for an offensive in 2024. The Ukrainians had at least one for this year's offensive Dozens of well-equipped new brigades formed.”
Sees a reason for the lack of momentum of the Ukrainian counteroffensive Forbes that Ukraine would have difficulty concentrating its tank forces because the existing battle tanks were initially spread across many units: the tank brigades of the Ukrainian army were thin on the ground from the start. This could explain why the army's counteroffensive in southern Ukraine had made little progress. The news magazine contradicts many analysts and their claims that the delayed arms deliveries from the West have contributed to the current paralysis of the front.
In addition Forbes: “It appears that trained manpower, rather than a lack of combat-ready tanks, is the main factor in Ukraine's apparent difficulties in fielding a larger tank force. The Ukrainian army had around 900 tanks – mainly T-64s – in its arsenal on the first day of the war. More than enough for four, five or even six tank brigades, plus tank battalions in infantry brigades.” But a tank without a trained crew is just a lump of metal and rubber. The crews in the damaged tanks in Lithuania may have died – their skills and experience are difficult to replace. (Karsten Hinzmann)
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