Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russia is not just about tanks and other flashy equipment, says the Center for European Policy Analysis. It is about the less glamorous supporting kit and personnel, such as engineering equipment used to breach complex obstacles, trucks bringing supplies to the front, and field ambulances evacuating casualties from the front. After Russia’s losses in Autumn, Russia spent the winter and early spring undertaking a massive military engineering effort, dotting the map with engineering equipment used to breach complex obstacles, trucks bringing supplies to the front, and field ambulances evacuating casualties from the front. The United States has provided 18 armoured bridging systems, mine clearing equipment, and supplies for explosive breaching operations.
The bridges can span a gap of 60-80 feet depending on the type, but they only can hold up to 60 tons. This means that they will struggle to hold up to a Leopard 2, and if a tank breaks down, the bridges may not be able to bear the weight of a Leopard being towed by a large truck. However the mine-clearing equipment likely includes a combination of mine rollers and ploughs, as well as vehicle-borne or trailer-towed mine-clearing line charges (MICLICs) – a system that launches a rocket tied to a line that has explosives on it. By firing the rocket over a minefield and then detonating the explosives, you can reduce the minefield sufficiently to allow a vehicle with a mine plough to clear a path.
