Military analyst: Precise number of tanks Poland has left is unclear due to undisclosed tank shipments to Ukraine

04/19/2024 / By Richard Brown

Military analyst Damian Ratka has remarked that the precise number of tanks of the Soviet T-72 design currently operated by the Polish military remains unclear due to the undisclosed quantity donated to Kyiv.

Ratka made these observations during an 80-minute video discussion on the future trajectory of Polish armor, facilitated by the Polish military-focused news portal Defence24.

“We lack concrete information regarding our T-72 tank inventory, primarily because the exact number transferred to Ukraine remains undisclosed,” Ratka stated. He speculated that Kyiv likely received between 30 to 60 units, but emphasized the absence of publicly available figures.

Ratka’s estimations align with former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s commitment in January 2023 to provide Ukraine with a total of 60 tanks, evenly split between T-72M1 and the Polish-made PT-91 Twardy.

However, Morawiecki also mentioned at the time that Poland had previously supplied approximately 250 T-72s to Ukraine. (Related: Ukraine running out of tanks as military struggles to repair machinery damaged by Russia)

Warsaw initially announced its donation of T-72s in April 2022 without specifying quantities. Before this, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had already furnished Kyiv with Soviet-era armored vehicles to replace those lost in confrontations with Russian forces.

Additionally, Morawiecki pledged to dispatch 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, later clarifying that this declaration was intended to pressure Berlin to take similar action. It remains unclear whether any Polish Leopards were transferred to Ukraine.

Despite being hailed by Western and Ukrainian media as formidable assets capable of altering the course of the battle, the Leopards suffered significant losses during the Zaporizhzhia offensive last summer.

Regarding the future outlook for Polish armored forces, Ratka highlighted that Warsaw currently operates various T-72 and PT-91 models alongside three versions of the Leopard 2, as well as an unspecified number of American-made Abrams and South Korean K2 “Black Panther'” MBTs.

Ratka disclosed plans by Poland to procure over 350 Abrams tanks, including 250 of the newer M1A2 variant, as well as approximately 180 K2s. However, credit issues have posed obstacles to the proposed acquisition from Seoul.

Furthermore, Ratka mentioned Poland’s intention to cease production of spare parts for Soviet legacy systems due to the inability to manufacture crucial components like turrets and engines domestically. The future disposition of the remaining T-72s and PT-91s remains uncertain, with Ratka suggesting the possibility of their eventual transfer to Ukraine.

Poland to send even more tanks to Ukraine

In late March, the newly elected liberal government of Poland announced that it will focus on providing even more main battle tanks to Ukraine.

This is part of an “armored vehicle coalition” Poland has set up with Germany in an effort to provide more armored vehicles, including tanks, for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said this coalition will “activate” Ukraine’s armored capabilities. Without providing too many specifics, such as what kinds of armored vehicles and how many of them will be sent by which nation to Ukraine, Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Poland and Germany would be leading the coalition.

Furthermore, other nations have already expressed their interest in providing similar vehicles to Ukraine, including Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Watch this video from “Borzzikman” discussing how a Russian ballistic missile strike on Sumy in northern Ukraine wiped out the headquarters of a group of Polish mercenaries fighting for Kyiv.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.