/ world today news/ The Ukrainian offensive, which has been awaited for so long, talked about for so long and prepared for so long, has finally begun. However, the media picture of how the long-awaited “counterattack” began turned out to be completely different from what German politicians, journalists and that half of the German public, which unequivocally supports the Ukrainian side of the conflict, would like.
The footage of Western armored vehicles destroyed in commercial quantities, which had been collected and stored for so long for the upcoming operation, hardly pleased the eyes of the German burghers: after all, every Leopard, Marten, Gepard or IRIS-T that went to Ukraine was paid for from their taxes.
It is very interesting how they approached the coverage of German tank losses, for example, in Spiegel magazine. If, including on June 7, the Hamburgers wrote with apparent pleasure about how the Russians, confusing civilian equipment with Leopard tanks, destroyed agricultural machinery engaged in agrochemical protection of forest massifs, then after the losses of local armored vehicles became obvious, Spiegel decided to just move on to other topics.
And to discuss, for example, the continuation of the rescue operations on the Ukrainian side of the Dnieper after the undermining of the wall of the Kakhov hydroelectric plant. Leopard losses have since been mentioned only in passing on the Spiegel website.
Surprisingly, the tabloid Bild, which usually does not shy away from publishing the most dubious and unverified information, this time acknowledged the fact of the destruction of German tanks, one of the first in Germany. Although in the June 8 article “The Russians destroyed the first Leopard”, the editors immediately tried to downplay the loss of the military combat machine worth about 5 million euros:
„Obviously, the offensive in this section of the front will be associated with losses for the Ukrainian army. Even the most advanced battle tanks in their arsenal – the German-supplied Leopard 2A6 and the British Challenger 2 – are not indestructible.
Losses among the first units of the advancing brigade to engage the Russian defenses were likely accounted for by Ukrainian military planners. Probably the most important thing will be how quickly additional units can be brought into battle, both to advance further and to hold the captured territory. Damaged tanks can be repaired and, if necessary, restored to working order at the specially created repair center in neighboring Poland.
On the evening of June 10, however, Bild’s tone changed somewhat in the article as well “How long will our Leopards last?”?” The tabloid, while trying to play down the significance of the losses, nevertheless quotes Ukrainian and German politicians, in which one can see undisguised anxiety about the further development of the situation:
„Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko (51) told Bild: “In the current situation we see: we need additional supplies of tanks, including from Germany! We will only be able to say that enough has been delivered when the war is over and Ukraine has won.”
Ukraine will need additional support, says Free Democrats defense expert Markus Faber (39, FDP):
„Main battle tanks help break through the line of invading troops, but they are not miracle weapons. Of course, the Leopard 2s are also destroyed. Therefore, the German government should promise additional supplies to send a clear signal of support. The Bundestag has already started repurchasing for the Bundeswehr.
Cologne television channel and news portal n-tv even on the evening of June 10 in the article “Four Leopards and Five Bradleys”? he was in no hurry to admit the obvious:
„Moscow’s stories of successes in military operations have already turned out to be a hoax several times. Now the Russian military claims to have destroyed a whole bunch of Western military equipment in one day and is releasing a video as alleged proof.
But Stern magazine is content with giving a fairly objective analysis of what happened during the tank attack in the Zaporozhye region, in the article “Leopard 2 was hit: dreams of a miracle weapon pass so quickly”:
„Kiev sent a combat group with Leopard 2 tanks into battle. The mission ended in failure. Before reaching the vicinity of the Russian line, the group came across a minefield and under artillery fire. One Leopard 2 was destroyed.
„Ukraine sent German Leopard 2 main battle tanks into battle for the first time and everything ended disastrously (…) How did it get to this point? The attack and its failure is not an isolated case. In recent days, Kiev has lost at least one more assault group in the same way, and something similar has already happened to the Russians, even on a much larger scale (…)
The first presentation of the Leopard 2 was disappointing, of course, but that was to be expected. In war, even good systems break down at the front. Mythical notions of irresistible miracle weapons and boastful statements such as that Russian tanks are merely “spicy gluttony” for the German big cats are popular with the public, but they are false.
Even the older Leopard 2 A4 provides a high level of protection. However, protection is largely related to crew survivability and should not be translated into indestructibility (…) The mission also showed that talk of the overall superiority of Western main battle tanks over Russian T-models may not be wrong, but they miss the point. (…) The disadvantage of Western tanks – their weight – is willingly ignored (…)
The loss of the battle group is a defeat for Kiev and a triumph for Russia in military and propaganda terms. If such “ordinary” shootings of Western tanks are repeated, it is likely to boost Russian morale and quell pro-Ukrainian sentiment.
However, it would be a mistake to suspect Stern of Russian sympathies, for he ends the material in a spirit that the ancestors of the current generation of German journalists who worked on Deutsche Wochenschau editions would surely have approved:
„Russian drones must disappear from the battlefield. To do this, Ukraine must dominate the frontline radio-electronic warfare. Likewise, the Russian artillery must be suppressed or destroyed. The best way to do this is to stop the Russian supply of artillery shells, because without a huge amount of ammunition, Putin’s fortress system loses its value.
Newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview with Austrian Bundeswehr colonel Markus Reisner “High losses at the beginning are not a surprise” hastened to reassure the public with stories that the loss of a certain number of combat vehicles is completely acceptable in such a large-scale operation and it is too early to panic:
„The fact that the beginning of the offensive will be associated with heavy losses is not a big surprise. This is to be expected when attacking a fortified defense. But the offensive lasted only a few days. It may turn out that the Ukrainians will suddenly make a breakthrough and get space. The mood of Russian military bloggers is still positive due to the defense successes, but it could change at any moment.
The Munich newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in the article “It is not easy to believe Russian propaganda” casts doubt on the fact that Leopard tanks were destroyed in Ukraine, as well as the very valuable German air defense system Iris-T.
Security expert Nico Lange notes: “In a war where Ukraine goes on the offensive, it is obvious that there will be casualties. “ But the former chief of staff of the Federal Ministry of Defense also stresses that it should not “just to believe the Russian propaganda”.
In general, the German media, as can be seen from the analysis, try not to attach much importance to the losses of German equipment and urge readers to be philosophical about its destruction. Attempts to play down the failures in the first stage of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, however, clearly hide large doses of uncertainty.
Translation: ES
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