Modern tanks could help push back Russians, says former tank commander

A former Ukrainian tank commander now living in Saskatchewan says modern tanks will be a big help pushing back the Russian invasion in his former home country.

Several countries, including Canada, the United States, Germany and Britain, are expected to send dozens of tanks to Ukraine over the coming months. Canada’s contribution will be four Leopard 2 battle tanks, the federal government announced this week.

Andrii Gnatiuk commanded a tank from 2015 to 2016 during the war in Donbas. Speaking to Gormley on Friday, Gnatiuk said modern tanks are needed by the defenders of Ukraine, but there are some considerations to take into account as well, particularly when it comes to crewing the high-tech fighting vehicles.

“You can send modern (American) Abrams (into) Ukraine, but where (are) you going to find the crew to operate this tank? To train people to operate modern tanks, it’s more important than you think. It’s not that easy,” Gnatiuk said.

Gnatiuk commanded a Soviet-made T-64B tank, and said his training for that role took about 40 days. While many Ukrainian soldiers may already be trained to operate various armoured vehicles, he said they’ll need more training before the new tanks can be used on the front lines.

“They probably need around one month, for sure,” he said.

That said, Gnatiuk explained that much of the Ukrainian military didn’t have extensive modern training when the war began nearly one year ago, but their ability to learn quickly has been proven since then.

During ground warfare, Gnatiuk said the new tanks could be vital, as they can be used day or night in almost any location.

“I’m sure if we got approximately 300 to 400 modern battle tanks we can push (the Russians) back,” he said.

— With files from The Canadian Press