Poland has begun a large-scale repair operation to return the damaged to the battlefield Ukrainian artillery and armored vehicles.
In a sprawling factory complex surrounded by abandoned buildings, hundreds of technicians work around the clock on one of the biggest tasks of the Ukrainian war: repairing artillery and heavy armored vehicles and returning them to the front line.
The WSJ writes about it.
Mechanics buzz around a football field-sized workshop that houses three AHS Krab cannons and the air is heavy with the smell of metal dust and automotive grease. Two “crabs” that look like tanks but are self-propelled 155mm howitzers are missing parts of their tracks and are riddled with ball holes and twisted metal.
Another Crab is gleaming clean, ready to be shipped back to Ukraine along the route that saw the largest arms transfer to Europe since World War II. Each weapon can take up to two months to be repaired by specialists who must pass a series of security checks before they are allowed to enter the factory at a location that The Wall Street Journal has agreed not to disclose.
Except for repairs in Poland, mechanics are in constant communication with technicians in Ukraine, many of whom were civilians before the war, teaching them through encrypted apps how to repair everything from tanks to missiles.
Maintenance and repair of ammunition is a major challenge in a war that is flaring up at the fastest pace since Nazi Germany clashed with Soviet Russia in the same area almost 80 years ago.
The previously unreported scale of the Polish armaments operation highlights the complexity of the soon-to-be-much larger maintenance task.
Earlier US President Joe Biden's administration announced plans to send 31 M1 tanks to Ukraine Abrams, joining European allies who will send up to 100 German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
Polish officials say they expect the Abrams tanks to be repaired in Poland's western city of Poznań, making the former Soviet satellite state the front line of maintenance operations in the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. Poland will also likely play a critical role in the repair and maintenance of the Leopards due to its arms industry's deep experience with the tank.
“It's safe to assume that Poland is a leader when it comes to maintaining equipment used by Ukrainians on the battlefield,” said Tomasz Smura, a military technology expert at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, an independent think tank in Warsaw.
< p> The problem of the safety of Ukrainian ammunition, including tanks, arises at a time when both Ukraine and Russia are planning an offensive. Until then, Ukraine had mainly used tanks such as the Soviet T-72, including those donated by former Soviet satellite states, including Poland.
A year of intense fighting caused great damage to tanks and artillery mounts, the gun barrels of which were deformed by fire. In order to keep working, the equipment needs not only repairs, but also spare parts, as well as Soviet-caliber ammunition, which the West does not produce in significant quantities.
Meanwhile, armed officers from the Internal Security Agency control the workshop with the help of Ukraine tasked with scouting for potential sabotage operations.
Each of the approximately 400 assembly and production workers – and any visitor to the premises – must be a Polish citizen. The screening process for new employees, regardless of rank, can take several months.
On the factory floor, technicians work in three shifts around the clock and are in constant contact with Ukrainians on the battlefield. They share information on best repair practices through encrypted messages and HelpDesk, which helps them troubleshoot problems.
Polish mechanics say they once taught a Ukrainian postman to repair a rocket via chat.
Also, mechanics sometimes find things of soldiers inside: a toothbrush, half-eaten snacks or family photographs.
Recall that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is grateful to Western partners for their intention to transfer heavy armored vehicles to the Ukrainian armed forces to counter Russian aggression.
But the Ukrainian leader emphasized the crucial importance of the number of tanks and the timing when they can be delivered to Ukraine.
