Polish-Made Fighting Vehicles Have Arrived In Ukraine

The Ukrainian army’s 21st Mechanized Brigade always has been something of a mystery. The newly-formed brigade is the sole user of the armored vehicles that Sweden donated to Ukraine earlier this year.

But the Swedish vehicles—50 CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, 10 Strv 122 tanks, eight Archer howitzers and at least one Bgbv 90 armored recovery vehicle—never were enough to equip an entire 2,000-person brigade.

Ukrainian mechanized brigades usually have three battalions each with 30 IFVs plus a full battalion with 30 tanks and an artillery battalion with two dozen guns.

Now we finally may have seen what vehicle type has filled out the 21st Brigade’s inventory. A video that appeared online on Sunday depicts a column of CV90s and Strv 122s that also includes a pair of Polish-made Rosomak Wolverines.

It’s possible the 21st Brigade has complemented its Swedish vehicles with Polish vehicles.

This is the first appearance of a Wolverine in Ukraine, three months after the Polish government announced it would provide the Ukrainian government with 200 of the 25-ton, eight-wheel IFVs.

The Wolverine is a good choice for the high-tech 21st Brigade. It’s fast, with a top speed of 60 miles per hour thanks to its 500-horsepower diesel engine. And its 30-millimeter autocannon—the same gun that arms the U.S. Army’s Europe-based Stryker wheeled fighting vehicles—is a killer.

A Wolverine has three crew and seats eight infantry. If the vehicle has a flaw, it’s that the Polish army initially insisted on an amphibious capability for its own Wolverines. In other words, the Wolverine had to be light enough to swim short distances like a very slow, awkward boat.

But that meant reducing armor protection. In a major war like the one in Ukraine, a rational army almost always would choose armor over flotation. And indeed, Rosomak has developed a bolt-on armor kit that restores the Wolverine’s protection, but at the cost of its swimming capability.

It might not be long before Ukraine’s Wolverines see combat—if they haven’t already done so. The 21st Brigade is fighting a defensive action against a Russian counter-counteroffensive west of Kreminna in northeastern Ukraine. The brigade already has lost at least one CV90.