Anadolu
- US-supplied Bradley vehicles have played a vital role on the front line in Ukraine, CNN reported.
- A soldier told the outlet Russia would've overrun positions if Ukraine didn't have the vehicles.
- Ukraine is battling to fight off Russian attacks amid concerns that Western support is fading.
The Russian military would've overrun Ukrainian positions on a key part of the front line if Ukraine didn't have US-supplied Bradley armored vehicles, CNN reported.
"I doubt that we'd be talking with you doing this interview if we didn't have the Bradleys," a Ukrainian member of a Bradley crew, whose call sign is "Barbie," told the outlet.
"Most likely the northern flank would've been already lost without the Bradleys."
The report said that the Bradley armored vehicles had been vital in holding off Russian attacks near the town of Avdiikva, eastern Ukraine, which has been the target of fierce Russian attacks.
The vehicles' thick armor, powerful 25mm cannons, and capacity to fight off night attacks using thermal imagining made it a vital piece of equipment for Ukrainian forces, the report said.
The US supplied Ukraine with 160 Bradley armored vehicles as part of an aid package in early 2023, and they were used extensively as part of Ukraine's counteroffensive over the summer.
Ukraine initially used the vehicles as part of ambitious assaults on Russian positions, but Russian artillery was able to target them. Images last June showed the charred remains of several Bradley vehicles in Donetsk after a failed Ukrainian attack.
However, Ukraine changed its tactics to deploy the vehicles more effectively, and they are used by the 47th mechanized brigade near Avdiikva to fend off Russian attacks.
Forbes reported in December that the Bradley M2s and German Leopard 2A6 tanks are used by the 47th in rapid and devastating counterattacks, before pulling back.
However, CNN reported that with the new Ukraine aid package blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives, artillery is in short supply and is being rationed.