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Open-source researchers have found evidence that Moscow is dusting off Stalin-era tanks — some first deployed more than 70 years ago — and shipping them west, possibly a sign that battlefield casualties are contributing to a shortage of Armor for Moscow’s forces at the front have carried out in Ukraine.
According to photos obtained by the Tbilisi, Georgia-based Conflict Intelligence Team, 1940s T-54 and T-55 tanks were spotted aboard a train bound for Arsenyev in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia’s Far East headed west. Russia’s 1295th Central Tank and Repair Depot Base is located in Arsenyev.
Investigators could not confirm that the tanks were used for combat duty on the front lines in Ukraine. Both Russia, which occupies about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, and Ukraine are short of arms and ammunition, and rely on large stockpiles of old weapons.
But the T-54 series tanks would be particularly old, and using them would cause trouble for Russia, as Ukraine is now awaiting shipments of Leopard main battle tanks from European backers and M1 Abrams tanks from the United States.
The T-54s were adopted by the Soviet Army in the mid-1940s when leader Joseph Stalin was in power. The T-55 series entered service in 1958.
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This isn’t the first time Russia has turned to old tanks. Last year it was discovered that a Russian elite unit was operating T-62 tanks in Ukraine – Soviet-era tanks introduced in 1961. But the CIT report notes that this is the first recorded case of T-54 and T-55 tanks being decommissioned.
“Even an outdated tank is more useful than no tank at all,” says the report. “But we consider the lack of rangefinders and ballistic computers (not to mention fire control systems) to be the main disadvantages of these series, as well as primitive sights and an inferior weapon stabilization system.”
The Institute for the Study of War wrote in an assessment on Wednesday that using such inferior equipment could result in higher casualties.
“After all, every tank loss is the loss of a tank crew as well as the tank, and it is not clear how effective these tanks will be against Ukrainian armored vehicles,” ISW said. “They are very vulnerable to many anti-tank systems available to Ukraine.”
ISW added that the Soviet Union produced tens of thousands of T-54/55 tanks after WWII and that Moscow may turn to them to fill shortages.
“Russian armored vehicle losses are currently limiting the Russian military’s ability to conduct effective mechanized maneuver warfare,” ISW wrote. “Russian forces could send T-54/55 tanks from storage to Ukraine to reinforce these offensive operations and prepare for anticipated Ukrainian mechanized counter-offensives.”
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Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted Wednesday that the deployment of the T-54/55 tanks “shows the Kremlin’s determination to continue the war more or less forever.”
The CIT photos follow mounting evidence that Russia is facing serious supply problems, with dozens of conscripts recording videos in recent weeks telling President Vladimir Putin of a shortage of arms and ammunition. Several recruits said they were given WWII-era weapons and rusting Kalashnikovs.
“We find it difficult to determine the possible uses of these tanks,” the CIT wrote in its report, noting that Russia also mobilized armored personnel carriers and other vehicles from the 1950s and 1970s. “This clearly indicates serious problems in the supply of military vehicles.”
Western intelligence agencies have also reported that Moscow’s tank losses are increasing. In February, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based analysis group, estimated that Russia may have lost more than 2,000 tanks in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Oryx, an independent team of analysts that has tracked open source information on equipment losses, estimated that more than 1,700 Russian tanks were destroyed, damaged or captured. According to the group, this is more than half of the operational tanks believed to be in Russia’s possession when the invasion began in February 2022. Ukraine lost about 500 tanks in comparison, according to Oryx.
One year of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Portraits of Ukraine: Every Ukrainian’s life has changed – big and small – since Russia launched its full-scale invasion a year ago. They have learned to survive and support each other in extreme circumstances, in bomb shelters and hospitals, destroyed apartment complexes and destroyed marketplaces. Scroll through portraits of Ukrainians reflecting on a year of loss, resilience and fear.
Attrition: Over the past year, the war has morphed from an invasion on multiple fronts that included Kiev in the north to a conflict of attrition largely centered on a vast territory to the east and south. Follow the 600-mile frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces and get a glimpse of where the fighting was concentrated.
Living apart for a year: Russia’s invasion, coupled with Ukraine’s martial law barring military-age men from leaving the country, has forced millions of Ukrainian families to make agonizing choices about how to balance safety, duty and love, with once-intertwined lives no longer are recognizable. This is what a train station full of farewells looked like last year.
Deepening of the global divide: President Biden has dubbed the reinvigorated Western alliance forged during the war a “global coalition,” but a closer look suggests the world is far from settled on the issues raised by the Ukraine war to be united. There is ample evidence that efforts to isolate Putin have failed and that sanctions have not stopped Russia thanks to its oil and gas exports.
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