Ukrainian tank commander critiques Western armor: Speed vs. durability

Dmytro Bałabucha is a tank operator who has been the tank company commander of the 32nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2022. In a conversation with Ukrainska Pravda, he highlighted the differences between Western tanks—Leopards and Abrams—and Ukrainian ones, primarily the T-64BW.

The Western Abrams have been criticized for many weeks, mainly due to their weaker armour compared to soldiers' expectations. Tanks from the USA are also reported to have electrical issues that fail during rain or fog due to water condensation inside the tank.

In a similarly critical tone, Dmytro Bałabucha, a tank operator who has served in the army since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, recently spoke about Western machines. The expert compared Abrams and Leopards with the Soviet-era designs used on the front, particularly the T-64BW used by Bałabucha's unit.

According to the soldier, some Ukrainian machines are even better than Western ones. "I can say that our equipment performed not worse, and in some cases even better," comments Bałabucha. He points out that Ukrainian machines lead in some actions, while Western Leopards only support others. However, he emphasizes a significant advantage of the Leopards: their speed. "The advantage of the Leopard is that it is fast, handling some tasks much better because it quickly arrives at a position and leaves it."

Bałabucha also questions whether Western tanks have any "super armour." "Our tanks have dynamic Kontakt protection, which essentially protects against all cumulative projectiles," he emphasizes, noting this valuable addition to Ukrainian machines.

The soldier adds that he knows crews who survived hits from several guided anti-tank missiles while moving in a Ukrainian tank and returning to base. "I wouldn't say our armour is worse. I saw an Abrams lose combat capability after one hit from a Lancet and essentially burn," he continues, highlighting the frequently mentioned flaw of Abrams by Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian tank operator did not forget to comment on the armament of Ukrainian and Western tanks in his conversation with Ukrainska Pravda. According to him, the Soviet-era tanks used by Ukrainians have larger calibre barrels and generally more powerful guns. These have 120 mm guns, while Western Abrams and the first generations of Leopard 1 are armed with 105 mm guns. Barrels with a larger calibre (120 mm) were only added to Leopard 2.

Remember that the Ukrainian T-64BW tanks, to which Bałabucha compares the Western Abrams and Leopards, are a significant modernisation of the basic T-64. In its improved version, the T-64 features armour, significantly increasing the crew's survivability.

The T-64BW's modernisation package in 1985 contributed to improved detection of enemy units (even at night) and enhanced communication. The design includes a new TPN-1TPV sight with thermal imaging, which detects targets up to 5 km away. Its armament consists of a smoothbore 2A46 gun and machine guns of 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm calibres.