Czechia offered Ukraine T-72 tanks. One problem: they can’t shoot straight.
- The Czech Republic had planned to donate 30 upgraded T-72M4CZ tanks to Ukraine
- Tests revealed the tanks' Italian-made fire controls are broken—and unfixable
- FPV drones have made tanks far less critical to Ukraine's defense than in 2022
- Ukraine's military restructuring has also reduced its overall tank requirements
The Czech Republic had every intention of donating its roughly 30 T-72M4CZ tanks to Ukraine. Just one problem—the three-person tanks, deep upgrades of the Soviet-designed T-72, don't work.
So Ukraine won't be getting the tanks, even though it could surely use them. The Ukrainian armed forces went to war in February 2022 with around 1,000 tanks. They have since lost more than 1,000 tanks and received another 1,000 or so as donations.
That should mean the Ukrainians have as many tanks as they started with 45 months ago. The problem is that the Ukrainian armed forces have doubled in size. At the same time, hundreds of surviving tanks are badly worn out after nearly four years of hard fighting.
As a consequence, there's a tank shortage in Ukraine—one those Czech T-72M4CZs won't be helping to solve.
Italian fire controls failed—and can't be repaired
The problem with the T-72M4CZs—which underwent an upgrade in the early 2000s—reportedly lies with the TURMS/T fire control system from Italian firm Selex Galileo, according to Novinky.cz. The TURMS/T helps the crew aim the tank's 125-mm main gun.
Something is broken inside the fire controls. "In the summer and autumn of this year, control tests were carried out repeatedly and without success," the Czech defense ministry told Novinky.cz. "The problem occurred with the so-called rectification, i.e. the accuracy of the firing of tanks."
"Repairing these components is not technically possible, as confirmed by their Italian manufacturer," the ministry added. Unable to shoot accurately, the T-72M4CZs are almost certainly destined for scrapping. The Czech army is re-equipping with 44 modern German-made Leopard 2A8 tanks.
The broken tanks won't dent Prague's overall military support for Kyiv. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed last week that Czechia has sent Ukraine military support worth $832 million since February 2022—and actually profited from the effort, receiving $1.19 billion in return through foreign aid and defense contracts. The Czech-led ammunition initiative has delivered over 1.5 million large-caliber artillery shells to Ukraine.
Why tanks matter less in Ukraine's drone war
Tanks aren't the most important vehicles in the Ukrainian inventory—and not just because tanks are best at offense while Ukraine is on the defense. Tanks are vulnerable to the tiny explosive drones that are everywhere all the time along the 1,100-km front line. According to NATO officials, FPV drones have been responsible for destroying more than two-thirds of Russian tanks in recent months.
The Russians still deploy tanks in an offensive role, but only after wrapping them in layers of anti-drone armor. The Ukrainians deploy a few tanks for swift counterattacks against Russian incursions, but for the most part, Ukrainian tanks hide out kilometers behind the front line—leaving their dugouts only briefly to fire a few rounds at distant targets, like artillery.
Forbes described this shift as the "era of the cautious tank"—a complete overhaul in how Ukraine deploys its armored forces after losing over 1,000 tanks to Russian drones.
Ukraine's restructuring cut tank requirements
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ground forces have reorganized in part to make more efficient use of their dwindling tank holdings.
Starting in late 2024, the ground forces converted 11 tank, mechanized, and territorial brigades into heavy mechanized brigades by reducing the number of tank battalions in each brigade and increasing the number of infantry battalions. Each Ukrainian corps now has a heavy mechanized brigade.
The reorganization resulted in lighter and easier-to-support brigades better suited for the kind of war Ukraine is waging right now. But the restructuring also reduced Ukraine's overall requirement for tanks—at least for now.
So, no, 30 old Czech tanks won't make or break Ukraine's war effort.
