There is no doubt that the conflict in Ukraine has cost the Russian military a significant number of tanks. The proof is in the images that regular people post on social media, as well as in the displays of seized or destroyed hulks that were set up during the summer in Kyiv, Warsaw, and other European capitals.
But it’s still unclear how many Russian tanks there actually are.
More than half of Russia’s tank losses really happened in the first 50 days of the conflict, when the Kremlin’s forces sought to conquer the Ukrainian capital, according to the Oryx intelligence site, which records equipment losses in Ukraine based on open source information. The blog’s count has been updated regularly since it was initially created on February 24, when Moscow commenced its unprovoked attack.
Losses have changed during the course of the battle, according to Jakub Janovsky, a participant in Oryx’s count, who also writes for The Moscow Times, an independent Russian online weekly run by a de facto exile from Amsterdam.
Because they were dispersed over such a large region of Ukraine, the Russians “lost an absurd amount of tanks and other vehicles in the first month,” continued Janovsky.
At least 1,000 tanks and other armoured vehicles have reportedly been destroyed or severely damaged, according to current estimates. Similar figures, meanwhile, were also made public by Ukrainian troops in April, and in May, U.S. defence authorities calculated that Russia had lost almost as many combat vehicles and other equipment as they had claimed.
Although the numbers were thought to be more cautious than certain projections made by the Ukrainian government, they nonetheless illustrated the serious difficulties the Russian military is still having.
Man-portable anti-tank weapons like the Swedish AT4, British NLAW, and American FGM-148 Javelin have been used successfully against Russian tanks.
However, according to further information from the Moscow Times based on Oryx statistics, up to 34% of Russia’s tank losses were really caused by crew abandonment. Poor planning and other logistical missteps by the Russian military have been blamed for this.
According to Janovsky, “a lot of tank losses occur when tanks are damaged or have a mechanical issue and are subsequently destroyed because they can’t be retrieved.
According to other accounts, Russia may have suffered even greater casualties in the fight, losing up to 2,000 tanks and armoured vehicles. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, they destroyed 2,077 tanks and 4,484 armoured combat vehicles in addition to “eliminating” more than 50,000 Russian soldiers (ACVs).
Whatever the precise figure, the losses have had an impact on Moscow’s arsenal.
Before the invasion began in February, according to an estimate by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the United Kingdom, Russia had about 2,800 tanks in use and another 10,000 stored away.
According to other different sources, Russia may have suffered even greater casualties in the fight, losing up to 2,000 tanks and armoured vehicles. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, they destroyed 2,077 tanks and 4,484 armoured combat vehicles in addition to “eliminating” more than 50,000 Russian soldiers (ACVs).
Whatever the precise figure, the losses have had an impact on Moscow’s arsenal.
Before the invasion began in February, according to an estimate by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the United Kingdom, Russia had about 2,800 tanks in use and another 10,000 stored away.
According to Janovsky, the T-72B3, a modernised version of the Cold War-era tank, and the even more contemporary T-80BVM were often used in Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion. Nowadays, finding T-72Bs and even T-64s is becoming more and more prevalent.
Russia’s tank losses will probably decrease, partly because it is finally making the necessary adjustments and partly because it doesn’t actually have that many more tanks to lose!