According to Zhdanov, now only the Challenger 2 company can appear on the battlefield, because Great Britain said that it would hand them over to Ukraine immediately.

Military expert Oleg Zhdanov predicts that the tanks provided to Ukraine by Western partners will be used in the next counter-operations, which will take place no earlier than March 2023.

In a comment to ICTV Facts, when asked whether all the tanks that Ukraine will receive from Western countries will be able to change the situation on the battlefield, Zhdanov answered in the negative.

“No, they won’t do anything now. Only the Challenger 2 can appear on the battlefield now, because Great Britain said that they would hand them over to Ukraine immediately… We will receive the other tanks no earlier than March,” he explained.

At the same time, according to Zhdanov, the Soviet-style tanks, which are handed over to us by our partners, can appear on the front lines at least tomorrow, if they arrive in Ukraine today. He also emphasized that the Western tanks that Ukraine will receive provide for counteroffensive operations.

“And we will have counteroffensive actions only after we complete the defensive operation from the attempted offensive that Putin is preparing… We need to take off our rose-colored glasses and stop talking about a counteroffensive, because our main task now is to successfully conduct a defensive operation,” – added the expert.

The main tasks of Ukraine’s defense operation, as Zhdanov explained, are maintaining the defense border and exhausting the enemy’s forces and resources. In particular, it is necessary to inflict a maximum defeat on the Russian occupiers.

The expert noted that, despite the fact that Ukraine will immediately receive German Leopard, American Abrams and British Challenger, maintenance and repair of these tanks should not become a big problem.

“There will be problems, but this is not news for us. And I understand that we have experience – look at our artillery. We have all (varieties – ed.) artillery available in European countries. The same, every gun has its own unique features, each gun needs its own spare parts and specialists who can service and repair it. The same will be the case with tanks,” he summarized.

Tanks for Ukraine

On the evening of January 25, 2023, US President Joe Biden officially announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. One tank battalion will be formed from them. Earlier, Germany approved the supply of its Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision of Western partners to transfer modern Western tanks to our country. According to him, Germany’s decision to transfer the Leopard and the US’s decision to transfer the Abrams “proves the most important fact for the world now – the fact that freedom is only getting stronger.”

At the same time, Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of the Defense Express edition, believes that after the transfer of the first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Western countries can begin to decontain other modifications of these tanks in order to continue their transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, Slovakia may transfer Soviet T-72s to Ukraine if allies offer a replacement. However, the issue of providing Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks is not being discussed yet.