Western 'Wonder-Weapons' Won't Turn the Tide in Ukraine

The destruction of the first British Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine is further proof that Western "wonder weapons" will not win the conflict for Kiev.

On Wednesday, new British Defense Minister Grant Shapps confirmed the destruction of one of 14 tanks gifted to the Kiev regime after the Ukrainian military released a video showing the burning vehicle near Rabotino on the Zaporozhye front.

Former US Marine and presenter of YouTube channel The News Atlas Brian Berletic told Sputnik that this was the first time the British main battle tank (MBT) had been tested in combat against an equal adversary.

"The myth of the Challenger 2's invincibility was carefully crafted by the UK Ministry of Defense by carefully deploying it to conflicts where it really didn't face that much of a danger, and also careful narration management," Berletic pointed out. "Because as a matter of fact, two Challenger 2 tanks were seriously damaged in Iraq. The armor was pierced. There were injuries, serious injuries. And this information was covered up. But it was only later revealed in the media."

One British army Challenger 2 was also destroyed by another in a "friendly fire" incident in the Iraqi city of Basra in March 2003.

"Now we have the Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine. It is fighting Russian forces, which are better-equipped and better armed than the insurgents were or fighting British troops in Iraq," Berletic said. "This was entirely predictable."

The pundit said that despite the media hype, "these Western main battle tanks were not going to make a difference," adding that he had consistently argued that they were in fact "very vulnerable" and would "burn just as easily as all the other tanks Ukraine had at the beginning of the special military operation, that these new tanks are there to replace."

The small numbers of vehicles donated to the Kiev regime, including 85 German Leopard 2 MBTs, 30 or 40 French AMX-10RC light tanks and 31 US M1 Abrams MBTs — yet to reach the battlefield — showed that NATO was unable to follow through on its pledge to arm Ukraine until the end of the conflict.

"It speaks to the desperation of the West and its foreign policy regarding this proxy war that they're waging against Russia and Ukraine," Berletic stressed. "They only sent 14 Challenger 2 tanks. So even if it was a wonder-weapon, what can only 14 tanks achieve on the battlefield? So is not much but as it turns out they are not wonder weapons."

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The geopolitical expert went on to compare Washington's strategy of provoking the Ukraine crisis to its more recent moves to arm Taiwan and encourage it to assert its claims to formal independence from China.

"What the US was doing with Ukraine in the lead up to the Russian special military operation, they were training Ukrainian troops, they were arming them, they were creating a national security threat to Russia on its border that Russia could not ignore," Berletic said. "Now with Taiwan, the United States is doing the same thing, except it's within China's borders."

He pointed out that the United Nations (UN) and even the US officially recognize Taiwan as an island province of mainland China under the One-China Policy.

"So they're violating international law," Berletic underlined. "They are violating their own agreement with China, and they are doing almost verbatim the exact same process that provoked the conflict in Ukraine."

For more in-depth analysis of current affairs, check out our Sputnik Radio show The Critical Hour.

Western 'Wonder Weapons' Won't Turn the Tide in Ukraine

Pivot to Taiwan