High level of crew training can increase Western tanks' efficiency by up to 30%

Oleksii Melnyk, Co-Director of Foreign Policy and International Security Programs at the Razumkov Center, said this on Espreso TV.

“Western tanks are technologically a completely different level of equipment. The technological advantages of the vehicle itself can be complemented by the training of the crew. There are estimates that due to the high qualification of the crew, the effect of these tanks can be increased by about 30%. For example, if there are 100 tanks and each of them has trained crews and the control system is at the highest level, they can produce the effect of 130 tanks,” he said.

Melnyk also spoke about the difference between Western and Soviet tanks.

“Tanks are not only heavily equipped with guns and armor, but they also allow you to integrate each vehicle into a common system. For example, to provide information from the battlefield on each crew. This is a really significant not only quantitative but also qualitative advantage that Ukraine is gaining,” the expert summarized.

• In the context of the supply of tanks, Western media often quote the words of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who said in an interview with The Economist that Ukraine needs at least 300 tanks for a successful offensive, not including other equipment.

• Ukraine will receive 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the Bundeswehr, and Berlin has also allowed partner countries to provide Ukrainian defenders with German tanks from their own stocks.

• On January 24, it became known that US President Joe Biden was ready to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine to encourage Germany to hand over the Leopards.

• Following recent negotiations, Ukraine expects to receive about 100 Leopard tanks from 12 countries.

• Ukraine's Ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko claims that Western countries have promised to provide Kyiv with 321 heavy tanks.