Will Kuwait Transfer Its Tanks To Ukraine?
The War in Ukraine is nearing its second year and there is no sign of the fighting ending anytime soon. Both sides have sustained heavy losses on the battlefield with hundreds of pieces of equipment either destroyed or damaged. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already received a considerable amount of military aid from the West, this includes hundreds tanks and IFVs, but the supply from the West is not infinite. At the beginning of February 2024, Ukraine has reportedly lost over 700 MBTs and this number will continue to rise. One of the most pressing issues for Kyiv is finding new sources of heavy equipment to replace losses.
One fresh source of vehicles may be the middle east. There have long been rumors about Challenger 1s from Jordan, but the condition of these tanks and the likelihood of that transfer is unclear. Another potential source which has been widely theorised on Ukrainian channels since January is a transfer of MBTs from Kuwait. While unconfirmed, a recent photograph of what appeared to be an M-84 MBT with desert camouflage spotted in Ljubljana, Slovenia has spurred speculation around the possible transfer of tanks from the Middle East to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A Serbian media outlet TV Front reported in early January that a Croatian company Đuro Đaković may be refurbishing the MBTs.
The M-84 is armed with a derivative of the Soviet 125mm 2A46 cannon equipped with an automatic loader. The ammunition is stored in the carousel under the turret, which is widely considered one of the T-72 family’s primary weaknesses as it is vulnerable to detonation following direct hits. The tank is also equipped with a night vision system. Total armor protection ranges between 550mm and 650mm for the glacis and 560mm and 700mm for the turret, however, the tank can be fitted with Explosive Reactive Armor for better protection. The M-84AB is equipped with an improved V46-TK engine produced by Serbian FMSN.
Before the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Kuwait received an estimated 150-200 M-84AB MBTs along with several M-84ABK command vehicles. Some of those tanks took part in Operation Desert Storm back in 1991 with the Kuwaiti 35th Ash-Shahid (Martyr’s) Armoured Brigade.
The potential number of M-84ABs which might be delivered to Ukraine and whether the transfer of the tanks will be realised remains unknown. If the transfer of was possible, however, the delivery of all 150 MBTs would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to deploy up to 5 tank battalions (31 MBTs each). This would essentially reconstitute a good portion of the combat power lost during the Summer Offensive of 2023.