Forbes: Russia Lost Almost 90% Of Tanks In Ukraine

• 13.01.2024, 9:07

Equipment made in the 1950s is being sent to the front.

During the 23-month war in Ukraine, the Russian army lost at least 2,619 tanks.

According to one count, the Russian armed forces went to war in Ukraine in February 2022 with 2,987 tanks. After 23 months of hard fighting, the Russians have lost at least 2,619 tanks that independent analysts can confirm.

That’s 1,725 destroyed, 145 damaged, 205 abandoned and 544 captured T-55s, T-62s, T-72s, T-80s and T-90s.

According to the Military Balance database compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia started the war with 3,417 tanks. At the start of the war, Russia had about 3,000 combat-ready tanks, Jakub Janowski, who helps compile a list of military equipment losses for the Dutch website Oryx, told The Business Insider. By May 31, 2023, Oryx counted 2,001 tanks lost by Russia.

However, Bloomberg notes, the IISS analysis does not take into account the equipment that was produced during the war and delivered to the troops. The Kremlin has the capacity to replace failed equipment: Uralvagonzavod, which produces the new T-90M, as well as four other enterprises that repair and modernize old tanks.

At best, Russia could produce 200 tanks a year, Admiral Tony Radakin, commander of the British Armed Forces, said back in July. By that time, he estimated Russian losses at 2,500 tanks (Oryx’s data is considered conservative, since not all destroyed equipment, especially those not on the front line, ends up in photos and videos).

In addition, after heavy losses, Russia began sending old tanks that were in warehouses to the front, including those made in the 1950s and 1960s.