One of the US-made M1126 Stryker armored personnel carriers that entered service with the 42nd separate motorized brigade of the AFU. Previously, only armament of the 82nd brigade with these vehicles was confirmed
The Ukrainian frontlines are still waiting for the promised counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). After months of military supplies from the West, training in NATO countries, the AFU grouping in the main direction of the offensive will consist of the professional units armed with Western military equipment.
At the beginning of May, the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the AFU completed combat coordination and it was equipped with additional Western vehicles. This combat unit received German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, American Stryker armored vehicles and British Challenger main battle tanks.
At the same time, columns of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, which are intended for the 47th Brigade of the AFU, were spotted moving to the Ukrainian front. The 47th Brigade was formed a year ago and is considered the elite of the Ukrainian army.
These military units, trained and armed by NATO countries, are expected to join the main strike group of Ukrainian troops in the upcoming offensive.
Back in late April, a convoy of US-made Stryker armored fighting vehicles was spotted in Romania near the border with Ukraine:
New Ukrainian units and Western equipment were put to the front weeks ago but any large-scale offensive operations of the AFU are yet to take place.
On the one hand, just at the time when Ukrainian attacks were expected, Russian forces began a prolonged wave of massive drone and missile strikes in all regions controlled by Kiev. As a result, many warehouses and military facilities located on the routes of Western equipment on the territory of Ukraine, as well as in close proximity to the front, where the Ukrainian military is accumulating forces, were destroyed.
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In its turn, the Kiev regime is asking for more and more weapons, which are allegedly still insufficient for offensive actions. Probably, one of the problems lies in Western weapons, but not in their quantity, but in their quality.
In March of this year, it was revealed that Ukrainian troops will be armed with American Stryker armored personnel carriers. Strykers should strengthen the counter-offensive potential of the AFU. However, it turned out that the vehicles sent to Ukraine had numerous malfunctions. According to unofficial sources from the front, 76% of Strykers in one of the units of the airborne assault troops of Ukraine cannot fully participate in combat operations. Of the 68 vehicles, 52 reportedly are in a faulty condition. In particular, Stryker has a large number of malfunctions in electronics and chassis. Ukrainian servicemen complain about non-functioning fuel pumps, communication systems, nitrogen supply, etc. In addition to technical malfunctions, Ukrainian forces are not able to fully service American vehicles.
Time will tell whether Russian forces managed to delay the Ukrainian offensive or completely disrupt Kiev’s plans. At the same time, numerous foreign armored vehicles, including the US-made Stryker, have yet to proove their effectiveness in combat operations on the Ukrainian battlefields.
