The lonely Ukrainian Challenger 2 in the snow is a symbol of disappointment and hope. An article with this headline was published by Forbes, illustrated with a photo of the tank.
“The grim photo of a lone Ukrainian Challenger 2 tank in the snow, apparently in Robotino in the Zaporozhye region in southern Ukraine, is a portrait of disappointment and hope,” the author writes.
He notes that this Challenger 2 was supposed to be near Melitopol, and believes it still has a chance of ending up there if “the Ukrainians can reshape the battlefield.” That won’t be easy, though, he says.
“When the Ukrainian army’s 47th Mechanised Brigade attacked south of Malaya Tokmachka on 8 June, launching Kiev’s main counter-offensive effort, the goal was to liberate Robotino, five miles to the south, within 24 hours.
But instead it took 10 weeks – and for one main reason: the Russian minefields between Malaya Tokmachka and Robotino were denser than Ukrainian forces had expected. Much denser. The 47th Brigade lost dozens of vehicles and possibly hundreds of men during its disastrous first assault….
The battered 47th Brigade and its ally, the 33rd Brigade, led the attack with their Leopard 2 tanks until the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade was deployed in August, replacing the 47th Brigade so its tired soldiers could rest and fix their vehicles. The 82nd Brigade is the primary or even sole user of some of Ukraine’s best vehicles donated from abroad: American-made Stryker wheeled combat vehicles, Marder tracked combat vehicles from Germany, and all 14 Challenger 2s provided by Britain.
But these vehicles, while more advanced than the former Soviet vehicles that most Ukrainian brigades still use, are still vulnerable to mines. In late August or early September, one of the 69-tonne, four-seat Challenger 2s hit a mine near Robotino. Immobilized, it became an easy target for a Russian anti-tank missile, which set it on fire and apparently burned the 120mm ammunition charges in the turret. The crew reportedly managed to escape before the vehicle burned to the ground.
This smashed, charred Challenger 2 might as well have signalled the end of the Ukrainian counter-offensive and the freezing of the front line. Robotino should have been the first target of the counteroffensive. Instead, it became the last,” the article noted.
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