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Leopard tanks rumbled across the open terrain of Swietoszow day and night, their turrets rotating rapidly to hit targets moving kilometers away.
Inside the hard shell are battle-hardened Ukrainian soldiers, pulled from the front lines for a 30-day crash course taught by Canadian troops at a Polish military base near the German border.
Most have experienced Soviet-era tanks used by the Ukrainian army. But the Leopards donated by Western countries are faster, better protected, and offer greater maneuverability and targeting.
“Ukrainians have been from day one just exceptional students,” said Captain Brittany Shki-Giziis of Canada’s Lord Strathcona’s Horse Regiment. “The stakes are too high for them to be too determined.”
Canada has sent eight Leopard 2 tanks from its own military inventory, as part of a multi-nation effort to supply dozens of German-built tracked vehicles to Ukraine, along with British Challenger and American Abrams tanks.
These tanks will be on the front line – and the Ukrainian first-class tank crews who use them are already eager to work.
“The goal is to destroy the enemy,” the Ukrainian major said as three Leopard tanks targeted targets in Polish territory. The CBC did not name him for security reasons, but he told a visiting news crew that he had long since left the military and had been retired when Russia invaded a year ago.
The Russian attack changed everything.
The major said that Ukrainian resilience had surprised Russia and that the donated tanks had “caused panic.”
“We need more ammunition,” he quickly added.
Indeed, Ukraine’s big guns in artillery and tanks consume thousands of rounds of ammunition every day in a war of attrition.
Canada has delivered more than 100,000 tank rounds for Ukraine’s use in training and on the battlefield, along with ammunition for machine guns mounted on Leopard tanks.
Canada is expanding rapidly to meet Ukraine’s needs
The Canadian Armed Forces have trained more than 35,000 Ukrainian soldiers since 2015, after Russia began a more limited invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Canada’s mission – called Operation Unifier – continues to this day, but has shifted to neighboring countries.
When the Western countries suddenly announced the transfer of Leopard tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they were in dire need of instructors. Canada immediately sent soldiers from its main tank regiment in Edmonton to a base in Poland. He will remain there for at least six months, training the Ukrainian army in Leopards.
The self-donated tanks will be used in battle as soon as the crews are trained.
The current task force commander of Operation Unifier, Lt.-Col. Chris Boileau, said the crew will soon be integrated into the Canadian curriculum.
“We have an absolutely ruthless efficiency when we act after reporting each series of exercises … lessons adapted from the battlefield,” he said.
And there is an immediate benefit to Canadian learning, said Shki-Giziis, who commanded the Leopard exercise.
“Canadians have learned a lot from the Ukrainians who came from the front lines,” he said. “We learn as much as we teach.”
Moving on from Soviet era tanks
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has long urged the West to provide modern combat tanks, in part for superiority, and some to replace the loss of Ukraine’s own stock of Soviet-era tanks.
Leopards are flanked by four warriors and have multi-layered composite armor, which is recognized as better protection against attacks.
They can travel at a speed of 110 km/h and are heralded for their speed and accuracy, being able to hit targets five kilometers away while on the move.
“They really appreciate these tanks,” said Captain Konrad Stefanowicz of the Polish Armed Forces, who himself switched from Soviet tanks to Leopards when he joined NATO in 1999.
“They really look forward to using it in the future on the battlefield.”
Stefanowicz admitted some soldiers trained in Leopards would be killed, and some tanks could be destroyed. But each, he points out, has better survival than the current situation.
Leopard’s sophistication is not without cost
But Leopard’s sophistication comes with additional challenges.
“They are mechanically more complex which means more maintenance, more work is needed to keep them running,” Shki-Giziis said. “However, the advantages outweigh the challenges.”
Canadian soldiers are in Poland to train Ukrainians on how to use Leopard 2 tanks, donated by Western countries. CBC’s David Common was at the firing range to see the training and learn the difference it will make on the battlefield.
However, in addition to the Canadians teaching the Ukrainians new systems for loading, driving and targeting, the Ukrainians had to establish a supply chain for spare parts and ammunition that was very different from what they had on hand.
Because Leopard is one of the most produced tanks in the world, parts are available more easily, and the Ukrainians have shown considerable skill in maintaining and defending complex supply lines, critical for any war.
Canada may not have pulled the trigger in Ukraine, but it is currently participating in exercises that did.
While other countries have contributed more military equipment to the war effort, some have joined Canada in various training exercises – most recently, in the last tank in combat by Canada a decade ago in Afghanistan.
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