Kyiv, Ukraine (TEH) – In a significant development on the Eastern European front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly lost an American-made M88A2 HERCULES armored recovery vehicle (ARV) for the first time since the onset of their counteroffensive two months ago. This revelation comes from a video recorded by a Ukrainian soldier at the scene of the destruction.
The United States had pledged to supply eight such ARVs to Kiev in 2023. Footage from a short video believed to have been captured on July 21 shows a soldier approaching a devastated piece of equipment. However, the details surrounding the time, place, and cause of the vehicle’s destruction remain undisclosed.
The M88A2 HERCULES was initially showcased on Ukrainian soil on February 1. The armored recovery vehicles were assumed to be part of the tank battalion of the 47th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, equipped with upgraded M-55S tanks received from Slovenia.
Military experts of the Telegram channel ‘Military Chronicle’ on July 23 suggested that the Hercules vehicles were to be used in conjunction with the US M1 Abrams tanks. Interestingly, these tanks have not yet been received by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, yet the HERCULES ARVs have already seen action on the battlefield rather than being kept in reserve.
“The Ukrainian army is losing the American-made M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicles before Hercules receives the Abrams tanks, which should work in one package. But in reality, American tanks entered the battlefield before they entered the battle,” stated the ‘Military Chronicle’.
It’s hypothesized that the initial losses of such ARVs were suffered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Zaporizhzhia, between the villages of Pyatikhatki and Stepovoe, during a failed attack of the 116th mechanized brigade. According to experts, at least two such ARVs were destroyed, leading to several significant implications.
The increasing loss of the M88A2 HERCULES vehicles will make it more challenging to maintain Abrams tanks in the field, as two such ARVs are often required for certain operations, like disassembling the tower or evacuating an Abrams. The HERCULES vehicles were likely deployed due to losses in specialized equipment, as more ARVs are needed to evacuate damaged equipment from the battlefield. The increased losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in armored vehicles have led to a shortage of ARVs, making it difficult to promptly evacuate damaged equipment.
Moreover, the loss of rare M88A2 HERCULES ARVs, along with the even scarcer Bergepanzer 2s necessary for evacuating Leopard tanks, may result in fewer battle-ready tanks in the mechanized units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Due to the scarcity of ARVs, other military equipment is increasingly deployed for the evacuation of wrecked tanks, but such equipment is frequently destroyed by Russian aircraft and artillery upon arrival at the evacuation site, further exacerbating the losses sustained by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The loss of the M88A2 HERCULES ARVs follows a recent report from the German publication Berliner Zeitung, detailing the significant equipment losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the initial stages of the Ukrainian troop counteroffensive in June. This development underscores the considerable challenges faced by the Ukrainian military in the ongoing conflict.
