Ukrainian military have been and continue to transmit their requests through two channels. The first and most effective channel involves meetings in the Ramstein format (there have been 10 such contacts with 50 partner countries in 2023), and through intergovernmental relations between the government of Ukraine and partner countries, the Espreso publication reported.
Read more: How Many Leopard 2 Tanks Ukraine Received: About Allies' Plans to Create a "Tank Brigade" and Who Gave the Most
Means of Anti-Aircraft Defense: What Weaponry Did Ukraine Receive From Allies in 2023? (Part 3)
A year ago, on the eve of the New Year, in an interview with The Economist, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, clearly outlined the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the year 2023: "I need 300 tanks, 600-700 IFVs, 500 Howitzers."
In 2022, allies supplied the Armed Forces of Ukraine with approximately 4300 units of armored vehicles (mostly light) and 750 artillery systems. In 2023, allies have promised Ukraine over 1250 units of armored vehicles (including tanks) and an unspecified quantity of artillery (mainly referring to the repair and replacement of damaged weapons).
How many tanks, IFVs, and APVs did allies promise to Ukraine for 2023, and how much were they provided in total?
It is worth mentioning that only the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can provide the exact quantity of the received weapons. However, many details have been openly disclosed to the public by international partners.
"The Tank Coalition": high expectations, but a small number
The year began with promising news about the lifting of the veto on providing NATO tanks to Ukraine.
In July, Bloomberg, citing information from the Ukraine Support Tracker database, reported that Ukraine had caught up with russia in the number of tanks over nearly a year and a half of conflict.
The discussion involves four types of tanks: German Leopard 2 (2A4, 2A5, and 2A6), German Leopard 1 (A5), British Challenger 2, and American M1 Abrams.
It is also necessary to consider that a significant number of tanks and other military equipment were provided by russia itself as trophy. Forbes calculated and reported that in 2022, russia became the largest supplier of heavy weaponry to Ukraine – 400 tanks, 700 units of armored vehicles, and 170 artillery systems.
In 2023, due to the positional phase of the war, such "gifts" to the Armed Forces of Ukraine became significantly fewer.
According to the Ukraine Support Tracker, from the beginning of the full-scale invasion and up to the summer of 2023, allies supplied Ukraine with about 500 tanks, and another 250 were to arrive by the end of the year. Thus, potentially, there could be around 750 tanks from allies in almost two years of war.
However, Ukraine definitely did not receive all the promised tanks because some of them were heavily worn and required repairs, especially the old Leopard 1 tanks, of which about 200 were promised.
The foundation of this tank coalition comprised German tanks (10 countries joined the tank coalition to provide Leopards: Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Finland, and Portugal). Ukraine also received over 70 Leopard 2 tanks of various modifications.
Americans have only transferred 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The British have transferred 28 of their Challenger 2 tanks.
In fact, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received about 150-200 operational tanks, and another 100-150 Leopard 1 tanks could have been rejected. So before the start of the summer counteroffensive, Ukraine did not have 300 new tanks.
IFVs: provided a lot but not enough
The majority of Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry fighting vehicles were received from the United States and Germany. These are German IFVs Marder and American M2 Bradley and Stryker.
In general, throughout this year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces received over 120 Marder IFVs, 190 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles of various modifications. About 90 more Stryker armored fighting vehicles are expected to arrive soon. Additionally, in 2023, Ukraine acquired 50 Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. Soon, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive even more of these IFVs through an agreement between Ukraine and Sweden on joint production.
Therefore, overall, Ukraine could have received about 450-500 APVs from allies in 2023.
The deliveries of light armored vehicles that began in 2022 and continued in 2023 are worth noting. In particular, American M113s stand out. Over almost two years, a significant number of these vehicles, over 1100, were delivered.
Additionally, the Australian Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle deserves mention: there were 90 units as of 2022, and in 2023, there were reports of several deliveries, the total number of which could be around 100 vehicles.
Read more: Are There Any Chances For Ukraine to Get the Bradley IFV From the USA And Why the Price Doesn’t Matter At All
