Military

Head of Ukraine's Military Intelligence Doubts Abrams Tanks Will Last Long on Battlefield

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, has said that the US battle tanks Abrams, which are expected to be delivered to Kiev soon, will not last long directly on the front line, neither are the ATACMS long-range missiles likely to become a game changer.
Sputnik
"They should be used in a very tailored way for very specific, well-crafted operations because if they are used at the front line and just in a combined arms fight, they will not live very long on the battlefield. They need to be used in those breakthrough operations, but very well-prepared," Budanov said in an interview with online magazine.
He also said that a small number of ATACMS missiles "won’t change the situation," as Kiev needs "at least hundreds" if not thousands of such weaponry.
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence also said that using air defense systems to fight Russian aviation is "very costly and ineffective," adding that he would prefer striking Russian air bases instead.
Kyrylo Budanov is on the Russian law enforcers' wanted list. They charge him with several crimes, including terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure.
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