The United States Has Given Ukraine a Hundred M-2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Just Two Weeks

In two weeks, the United States has shipped around 100 M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

That’s a lot of Bradleys: enough to replace all the 33-ton, 10-person M-2s the Ukrainian army’s 47th Mechanized Brigade—so far Ukraine’s only Bradley-operator—has lost in a year of non-stop combat in southern and eastern Ukraine.

And there should be enough M-2s left over to equip a second brigade with the type.

The U.S. Defense Department has announced two aid packages for Ukraine since the U.S. Congress finally approved $61 billion in fresh financial support for Ukraine on April 23.

Russia-friendly Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives managed to delay that vote for six month before caving.

The two aid packages together are worth $1.4 billion and include ammunition, vehicles and air-defense equipment. Both mention fresh shipments of M-2s without specifying how many M-2s Ukraine would get.

*But when the Pentagon updated its main Ukraine fact sheet on Friday, the new language described “more than 300” M-2s. The previous version of the fact sheet, dated April 26, mentioned “more than 200” M-2s.*

The 47th Brigade equipped three 30-vehicle battalions with Bradleys from the initial consignment of 200 M-2s and deployed the vehicles in combat starting with Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive, which kicked off in early June 2023.

Six months later, the [seasoned] brigade sped east to bolster Ukrainian defenses west of Avdiivka. After Avdiivka fell in February, the 47th Brigade fought a rearguard action for a few weeks and, in late April, was preparing to withdraw for its first brigade-wide period of rest and reset in nearly a year.

But then the Russian 30th Motor Rifle Brigade broke through Ukrainian lines east of Ocheretyne and advanced several miles, compelling the 47th Brigade to rush back to the line.

(1/2)