(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The destruction value of various weapons manufactured by the United States and the West on the battlefield in Ukraine is estimated to have reached approximately US$10 billion (RM45 billion), proving that Western weaponry and technology have had no significant impact on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
This rough estimate is based on a report by The New York Times in July, stating that 20 percent of the weapons supplied by the United States and the West suffered damage or were destroyed within two weeks after the Ukrainian spring counteroffensive was launched.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine last February, Washington has provided military aid worth US$47 billion (RM211 billion) to the Eastern European country.
The military aid from the United States and the West successfully halted the advance of Russian forces in Ukraine, but it was still insufficient to allow Kiev to retake the areas currently occupied by Russian forces.
President Joe Biden’s administration is reported to be seeking an additional US$13 billion (RM58.5 billion) in military aid to be distributed to Ukraine.
Military aid from the United States to Ukraine includes valuable assets incurring high costs, such as M1 Abrams tanks, Patriot air defense systems, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
Unfortunately, much of the military equipment donated by the United States and the West to Ukraine faced a high rate of destruction, especially during the Ukrainian military’s spring counteroffensive.
However, Western military analysts expected this high destruction rate due to Ukraine facing well-fortified Russian defenses and challenging battlegrounds.
Such conditions always lead to significant destruction for those facing an enemy that has had enough time to prepare their defense fortifications.
The high level of destruction experienced by the Ukrainian military has caused them to change their strategy and “slow down” their counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian military has now shifted its strategy, focusing on artillery attacks against Russian military positions.
According to the arms monitoring blog “Oryx,” it has tracked the destruction of 23 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) supplied by the United States to Ukraine. Another 21 Bradley IFVs have been damaged, and five have been abandoned on the battlefield.
As of the end of July, the United States is believed to have supplied nearly half of the 190 Bradley IFVs it promised to provide to Ukraine.
Approximately 60 M113 armored personnel carriers, 57 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Maxxpro vehicles, and over 100 Humvees are also estimated to have been destroyed on the battlefield in Ukraine.
All the involved vehicles are also estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. — DSA