The deliveries of Leopard 2 and Abrams announced by the West are only the beginning of the formation of a brigade or even a “tank army” in Ukraine in the coming months, which will create serious problems for the invading forces, as Russian combat vehicles are inferior to those that will arrive in Kyiv’s possession, according to the former commander of the Donbas separatists Igor Girkin.

The decision on the mass transfer of tanks to Ukraine was made in just a few days and is only the first step, claims the former Minister of Defense of the DPR Ihor Girkin in an interview with a Russian publication translated by Dmitry. founder of the War Translated site.

“This is just the beginning. (…) Given that the Russian Federation has not been able to give an answer on this matter, I believe that further deliveries will be regular. I believe that 30 Abrams tanks, as well as several dozen Leopard tanks, which will be provided by other NATO countries, will allow to create a fairly powerful tank brigade in Ukraine in two months with modern weapons, spare parts, fuel and crews trained in the West. . And, I think, unfortunately, our troops will not succeed in battles with this brigade,” Girkin said.

The former FSB officer believes that Ukraine will not be able to defeat Russia “only with the help of these dozens of tanks”, but it is quite possible to cause serious damage and win some battles with their help.

“Unfortunately, the enemy’s armored vehicles, which will most likely be delivered in good condition, are in many respects superior to the equipment that our troops currently have,” Girkin said.

T-14 Armata tanks, “folk work”

In his opinion, modern Russian tanks “can only be relatively successful” against “Abrams” and “Leopard-2”, recalling the new T-14 “Armata” tanks promised by the leadership of the Russian army.

“And the tanks that we planned to send, the so-called T-14 Armata, are simply not produced here. They remained folklore creations of the Ministry of Defense, despite ten years and the large sums spent on their development,” added the ex-head of the Ministry of Defense of the DPR.

Russia is ready to send a small number of T-14 tanks to combat operations in Ukraine, but Russian forces are still reluctant to talk about the model’s capabilities, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an assessment Wednesday morning.

It is unclear exactly what aspects of the machines caused this reaction, but for the past three years, Russian officials have publicly stated problems with the T-14’s engine and thermal imaging systems.

In 2021, Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu called the production planned for 2022 only a “research and industrial” batch.

Russia sends decommissioned Soviet tanks to the front

Ihor Girkin believes that Ukraine will be able to reach the borders of 2013, before the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, if it receives all the necessary help from the Western allies, forming “a whole army of tanks.”

“It will be extremely difficult for our troops to fight them, especially given the fact that T-62 tanks, which have long been decommissioned not only in the Russian Federation, but even in the USSR, have already gone to the front from the reserve. “, the ex-leader of the Donbas separatists emphasized.

The ex-head of the Ministry of Defense of the DPR assumed that, despite the complexity of the Western equipment, a significant part of the Ukrainian military could be taught to use it in two months of intensive training.

And if the allies do not succeed, then “foreign mercenaries will be involved to develop tanks and cover the areas where the most intensive fighting is going on,” Girkin concluded.

Who is Igor Girkin?

Girkin, nicknamed “Strelkov” (Russian for “Strilok”), was one of the main commanders of the pro-Russian separatists at the beginning of the war with the Ukrainian army in Donbas, after the annexation of Crimea, and probably their most publicized commander at the time.

Before commanding separatist forces in Donbas, Girkin played an important role in planning the annexation of Crimea and the organization of Russia’s infamous “men in green” as an officer in the FSB, Moscow’s main intelligence service.

Girkin was accused of terrorism in Ukraine and was sanctioned by the European Union for his role in this activity.

After the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, he distinguished himself by sharply criticizing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and analyzing the events at the front.

In November, a court in the Netherlands sentenced Igor Girkin to life imprisonment for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Read here the most important information from 337th day of the war in Ukraine