The situation of Western tanks ‘hidden in the forest’ in Ukraine

During the visit to the Tank Battalion under the 33rd Independent Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine announced on August 25, the reporter New York Times Witness images transmitted in real time from many unmanned devices (drones) and displayed on screens hanging all over the walls at the command post.

They include a drone dropping an explosive warhead, a ground robot moving on a muddy road, and a reconnaissance drone monitoring a burning house. This is considered a miniature picture of a modern battlefield, where drones play an increasingly larger role in combat operations.

What doesn’t appear in the picture are tanks, even though this type of weaponry is closely associated with the battalion’s name. Once the most sought-after Western weapon in Ukraine, main tanks like the Leopard 2 now mostly lie still, hiding in the woods and covered with spider webs.

Oryx, an open intelligence tracking site based in the Netherlands, estimates that Ukraine lost at least 25 M1A1SA tanks, 22 Leopard 2A6 and Strv 122 tanks, 28 Leopard 2A4 tanks, three Challenger 2s and 37 Leopard 1A5 vehicles. The actual number may be higher, as Oryx only lists losses with verified images.

“We almost no longer use armored vehicles,” General Oleksandr Syrsky said last month, when he was still the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian army.

From expectations to disappointment

Ukraine asked the West to transfer tanks almost immediately after the conflict broke out in February 2022, when they were considered essential weapons. The allies continuously refused until January 2023, when Britain, Germany and the US changed their positions after intense negotiations and pressure from public opinion.

Western main tanks are expected to become the main spearhead to help Ukraine penetrate Russia’s defense lines and change the battlefield. Brigade 33, along with the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade, the “iron fist” of the Ukrainian army, was the main force in the large-scale counter-attack campaign launched by Ukraine in Zaporizhzhia province in June 2023.

However, both units suffered heavy losses in terms of people and equipment in just the first few hours of combat, losing 20% ​​of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 20% of Leopard 2A6 tanks and 50% of Leopard 2R mine-clearing vehicles in Ukrainian military service.

By the time Brigade 33 retreated to the rear to stabilize its forces two months later, first-person drones (FPV drones) had become a popular weapon.

Mike Riedmuller, former commander of US Abrams tanks during the conflict in Iraq, pointed out that one of the reasons why Western tanks did not meet expectations in Ukraine was FPV drones.

Any tank that comes close to the front line will immediately be attacked by flocks of FPV drones in the most vulnerable positions, such as the tracks and engine, causing it to lose the ability to move and lie still before the enemy’s attacks.

Faced with the threat from FPV drones, the Russian army has equipped steel mesh and cage armor for tanks and armored vehicles. “At that time everyone laughed, saying that Russia was making BBQ grills, but they were on the right track,” Energety, battalion commander in charge of tank maintenance of Brigade 33, admitted.

Ukrainian forces then learned from the enemy, equipped with cage armor and installed a large amount of Soviet-era Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor on Western tanks to ensure their survivability. However, both sides later limited the deployment of large numbers of main tanks and armored vehicles in shock operations.

“This raises the question of how can we neutralize the advantage that drones have and bring new vitality to armored forces?”, General Syrsky said. This is also the focus of the debate over military strategy that led to General Syrsky being dismissed from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian army.

However, Ukrainian units continue to maintain and train soldiers to use Western tanks. The company commander’s Fin signal indicates that the crews must always be ready, constantly practice, maintain equipment and install new protective measures.

“We don’t have time to rest, whether we directly participate in battle or not,” Fin said. The 33rd Brigade’s Tank Battalion usually practices live fire about every two weeks to maintain soldiers’ skills.

Yuri Kosenko, who just returned from two weeks in a shelter on the front line, said there was no tank battle on the battlefield but there were a lot of “mosquitoes”, referring to both mosquitoes and drones carrying explosive heads. Kosenko must always wear a drone detection device, even while going to the bathroom.

Like most of the soldiers interviewed, Kosenko did not feel it mattered if fighting did not occur, because he was bored. “War is war, there’s nothing to like,” this soldier said while loading artillery shells into tanks in the rear.

Hide, act as a tow truck instead of fighting

In a forest far from the front line in Kharkov province, you have to look closely to detect camouflage nets in the middle of the trees, underneath are German-made Leopard main tanks.

Some tanks are awaiting repair or maintenance. Others, including one covered in spider webs, were placed in a state of combat readiness, even though the order to sortie had long since been sent.

Here, a crew was replacing the engine of a tank that had been hit by a mine and caught fire. Another was hit by an FPV drone and hit its turret. These losses did not originate from combat operations, but occurred when they were used as tow trucks to evacuate damaged equipment on the battlefield.

“Even in this role, Ukrainian tanks can only go out in bad weather, because drones appear less frequently in rainy and windy conditions and poor visibility,” said Archie, a gunner in a Leopard 2 crew.

Driver Mechan said he used to use T-64 tanks from the Soviet era and felt happy to be transferred to the Leopard line. “It’s like driving a BMW or Mercedes,” this soldier described.

However, Mechan now rarely drives a tank and only uses it for motor vehicle rescue missions. Ukrainian soldiers believe that their skills can be lost if they don’t practice a lot, so they “still feel happy” when pulling carts even though this is a dangerous task.

Meanwhile, soldier Dima put his finger on the plan to deploy a Leopard tank as a rescue vehicle, when that put both the vehicle and its crew in a dangerous situation. “What’s the point, recovering a burned-out vehicle?”, Dima said.

Dima thinks a better option is to take the time to learn how to fly a drone, as he and Mechan are doing at night. Mechan admitted that he was not familiar with flying drones, but said that the era of tanks was over.

Some of the 33rd Brigade’s recruits had never even touched a tank. Among them is Korzhyk, who joined the unit in 2025 and was tasked with repairing ground drones.

Platoon leader Johnny, who worked next to Korzhyk, used to be a tank driver but did not hesitate when asked to transfer to a ground drone operation unit. “You close the roof, drive away without knowing if you’ll be able to return,” Johnny described the experience of driving a tank on the battlefield today.

Is the era of tanks over?

Morpheus, one of the new commanders transferred to Brigade 33, noted that about half of the Tank Battalion has been retrained to operate drones and the unit’s leadership must find ways to use manpower while tanks are no longer effective.

However, company commander Fin believes that tanks will not stand on the sidelines of the conflict for too long, because new technologies will appear to help this weapon adapt to modern battlefields. Fin believes that they may be integrated with AI to create “protective domes” or equipped with interceptor drones.

Morpheus also believes that a major technological breakthrough is needed to bring tanks back to the battlefield. “I believe they still have a future,” Morpheus said, adding that tanks may reappear as unmanned vehicles.