Why Russians and Ukrainians are racing to recover six damaged Strv 122 tanks abandoned in a conflict zone in Donetsk

The forces of Moscow and Kiev want to reach the Swedish armored vehicles, abandoned by the Ukrainians during the fighting, as soon as possible. While Ukraine hopes to repair them for reuse, Russia likely wants to inspect and parade them, Forbes writes.

In months of heavy fighting, the Ukrainian army’s 21st Mechanized Brigade, which mainly operates vehicles donated by Sweden, lost at least seven of its 10 Swedish Strv 122 tanks.

The Strv 122 is the Swedish main battle tank which, like the German Leopard 2A5, is based on the improved German Leopard 2 variant, using newer technologies for command and fire control systems, reinforced armor and long-range combat capability.

Most of the tanks were hit in Donetsk, near the town of Terni, where Ukrainian forces are struggling to resist the Russian onslaught.

But Oryx analysts say only one of the 69-tonne tanks was “destroyed”. The others were simply “abandoned” after the military fled, following a combined Russian attack with anti-tank missiles, drones and mines.

According to Forbes, at one point there were six tanks left, most of them in the fields outside Ternî. And the troops of Russia and Ukraine have made and are still making efforts to recover the armored vehicles.

The Ukrainians want to recover them to send to Lithuania for repairs. The Russians want to get their hands on them to inspect them and, perhaps even more, to parade them, Forbes writes.

The good news for Kiev is that so far the Ukrainians seem to be winning the race. Examining satellite images of the battlefield around the city of Ternî, analyst Andrew Perpetua recently concluded that of the five Strv 122s that the Ukrainians most recently abandoned, three have already been towed.

“Probably by the Ukrainians,” Perpetua wrote.

One of the still unrecovered tanks may soon also be towed by Ukrainian forces. Another, hit by a Russian drone, seems to be rather lost. The Russian military tried to tow it away, but were prevented by a Ukrainian attack.

But he is closer to the Russian positions.

It remains to be seen how quickly the technicians at the Strv 122 workshop in Lithuania can repair the three damaged tanks that the Ukrainians recently recovered from the front line.

A shortage of spare parts for the German-designed tanks means it usually takes workers months to repair a battle-damaged Strv 122 or Leopard 2.