<p >Two years after Western-supplied main battle tanks <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/leo2a6-destroyed-ukraine-bradleys" >began to see</a> frontline combat use in the Ukrainian theatre, CEO of Russian defence and technology giant Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, has provided insight into Russian evaluations of the three modern Western-designed tank classes operated by the Ukrainian Army. His evaluation closely follows <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/just-four-abrams-left-russia-wiped-out-87pct-ukraine" >confirmation</a> that the U.S.-supplied M1A1 Abrams tank, which was widely considered the most capable in the Western world, had seen 87 percent of the fleet donated to Ukraine either neutralised or captured, just 16 months after the class began to be used in combat in February 2024. The capture of significant numbers of Abrams and German-supplied Leopard 2 tanks, which have often been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/captures-leopard2a6-abrams" target="_blank">filmed being towed away</a> from the frontlines by Russian units, has allowed Russian experts to study the vehicles in detail. Footage released in October 2024 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-captured-leo2a6-study" >confirmed</a> that at least one captured Leopard 2A6 had been sent to Russia’s main tank manufacturing facility, Uralvagonzavod, in order “to assess the actual military-technical level of various systems and the captured vehicle itself.”&nbsp;It was subsequently <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-study-captured-american-abrams-tank" >reported</a> by multiple Russian sources in December 2024 that at least one Abrams tank would also be studied at Uralvagonzavod.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/13/article_684c050a93af45_56920493.webp" title="Captured Leopard 2 Tank at Uralvagonzavod"></p><p >With Russian experts having gained considerable information on Western main battle tanks both by studying their performances during frontline operations, and by assessing captured units, Chemezov’s statement may have reflected a new consensus on the vehicles. “The Leopard tank is well made: modern components, fire control system, powerful engine, although with strange temperature limitations. But we didn’t see any breakthrough design solutions—there’s nothing we could take from the Leopard and apply to our own platforms,” he stated. He noted regarding the Abrams: “Our specialists also examined the Abrams—it’s generally an interesting vehicle, but again, there’s nothing to take.” Comparing Western tanks to Russia’s own <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-new-batches-t90m-t72b3m" target="_blank">primary tank class the T-90M</a>, Chemezov stated: “If you compare their tanks with ours, the advantage of the T-90M ‘Proryv’ [‘Breakthrough’] lies in its firepower, armor, and mobility. It has a longer reach thanks to a guided munition and all-angle dynamic protection,.”“There have been cases where dozens of Ukrainian drones hit the vehicle, and it remained operational,” he added. Despite its advanced capabilities, the T-90M was bought into service very slowly from early 2020, and is relied on heavily primarily due to delays operationalising the more advanced T-14 tank.&nbsp;Many aspects of its mobility are also lacking relative to the T-80 tanks in Russian service.</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/13/article_684c03dd06a897_95031693.png" title="Challenger 2 Milliseconds Before and After Destruction by Vikhr Missile in Kursk"></p><p >Chemezov singled out a third class of Western-supplied main battle tank, the British Challenger 2, for criticism. “We’d like to examine it, mostly out of curiosity. It’s obvious in advance that it’s a ‘pot,’ not very suitable for real warfare,” he stated. Only 14 Challenger 2 tanks were delivered to the Ukrainian Army, with the class having seen a very small production run less than one tenth as large as those of the other two tank classes. Although many aspects of the Challenger 2’s armour protection were assessed to be superior to those of the M1A1 and the Leopard 2A6, its fire controls are considered far out of date, while its mobility is limited and its rifled main gun lacks the firepower of other tanks’ smoothbore guns. It remains uncertain to what extent Chemezov’s statements may have been influenced by Russia’s particularly hostile relations with the United Kingdom relative to other Western powers. A significantly lower proportion of the Challenger 2 fleet has been lost in combat, largely due to its lack of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/challenger2-destruction-ka52-kursk" >frontline deployments </a>relative to other tanks in the Ukrainian fleet. The tanks class nevertheless started to take losses <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-destroying-challenger2-ukraine" >very quickly</a> after its first frontline deployment began in September 2023. By contrast, like the Abrams, the vast majority of Leopard 2 tanks supplied to Ukraine have been neutralised or captured, with <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-majority-ukraine-leo2" target="_blank">most of the fleet </a>having been taken out as early as December 2023.&nbsp;</p>
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