​The Ukrainian army has lost more than half of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles it received from the United States, as hostilities in southern Ukraine appear to have entered a new phase of intensity.

The independent site Oryx, which tracks the losses of both armies fighting in Ukraine, confirmed that the Ukrainians lost 55 American armored vehicles.

Of these, 28 were destroyed, 21 were damaged, and another 6 were abandoned by the crews after being damaged. According to the Oryx balance sheet, which includes only weapons whose loss is confirmed by photos, video or other open sources, the Russians have not yet managed to capture a single American Bradley, although they have been boasting about it since the first half of July.

It should also be noted that given the fact that Oryx only counts visually confirmed losses, the actual number may be higher.

What is known about the Bradley cars that the US sent to the Ukrainian army

The United States promised Ukraine 190 Bradleys, 186 BMPs and 4 M7 BFIST advanced reconnaissance vehicles of the same line.

But only about half, or up to 100, of the vehicles promised by Washington are believed to have arrived in Ukraine before the start of the summer offensive that Kyiv launched in June, after months of delays waiting for more equipment to arrive in the west.

Given that the Washington government does not disclose how many Bradleys it has actually sent to the Ukrainian military, the numbers circulating in the American press on this matter fluctuate, but generally do not exceed 100 units.

For example, The Washington Post, in an article published on July 20, notes that a leaked Pentagon document shows that the Ukrainian army’s 47th Motorized Infantry Brigade, the only one to receive the Bradley, was to receive 99 units before the offensive began.

The American Bradleys were thrown into battle from the first day of the offensive

The 47th Brigade, one of the strongest in Ukraine, has been involved in the offensive since day one, being assigned to a section of the front towards Melitopol, a city in southern Ukraine that Kyiv forces are trying to capture in order to cut the Russian forces here and the land corridor in two. Russians to Crimea.

This brigade took part in the heavy fighting that took place for the city of Robotin, which explains the large number of Bradley losses.

In addition, fighting in southern Ukraine appears to have entered a new phase of intensity, as the Russian military has managed to recover from a disadvantage it had at the start of the war with kamikaze drones, which were used to target equipment and concentrate small forces. .

The Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Major General Vadym Sibytskyi, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, said that the huge number of drones used on the battlefield, in addition to real-time video surveillance, means that troops and tanks in the open have only a few minutes before they become a target

Heavy fighting in the south of Ukraine

“Now a tank column or an advancing column of troops can be detected within 3-5 minutes and after another 3 minutes hit,” Deputy General Kyrylo Budanov said.

“Survival rate [a forțelor aflate] in motion for no more than 10 minutes,” he emphasized.

Journalist Julian Repke from Bild, one of the observers of the war in Ukraine, Note for his part a day ago in a series of posts made on his Twitter page that the huge number of drones currently at the disposal of the Russian forces would be one of the reasons why the Ukrainian attacks on Verbove they seem to be “stuck again”. “.

Ukrainian troops have been on the approaches to this city on the axis leading to Melitopol since late August, when the offensive appeared to have regained momentum after a rapid advance.

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the Ukrainian general commanding the offensive in the south of the country, said in an interview a week ago that his troops managed to break through the Russian defenses near Verbov.

However, so far the fighting for this settlement continues without a decisive front breakthrough.

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