Uralvagonzavod, Russia’s historic factory for tanks and armored vehicles, had to stop production: Due to the sanctions imposed on Russia, it is no longer able to find basic components that are manufactured abroad. This was stated by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and press sources in Ukraine. Apparently there is no confirmation from Russia. Certainly, however, it is a huge industrial complex in Nizhny Tagil in the Urals that must have a significant impact due to the severe isolation that the Russian Federation faces.
Stop the Russian tank factory, components are missing
Not by chance Uralvagonzavod, which employed 30,000 people last year, was included in the EU list of sanctioned Russian companies because “the T72B3 tanks supplied by Uralvagonzavod to the Russian Armed Forces were used by Russia during the illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022”.
Its origin dates back to 1931, when it was founded on the basis of the Soviet leadership’s second fiveyear plan. During World War II it became the main center of development and production of armored vehicles for the Red Army and with 25,266 units built contributed significantly to the production of the T34 tank, the use of which by Soviet forces played a crucial role in the eventual victory over the Nazis Troops. In the second half of the last century, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it continued to produce tanks for the Red Army and for the Warsaw Pact allied nations, and then still today for the Russian Federation.
For the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army used armored vehicles on a large scale. However, the Ukrainian armed forces managed to neutralize and destroy a large number of them: according to a group of Dutch military analysts published on the Oryx website, at least 1,423 armored vehicles, including 263 tanks, 262 troop carriers. Aware of the shortage of spare parts, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also tend to salvage all decommissioned Russian armored vehicles so that they cannot be salvaged and used to repair others. With Uralvagonzavod standing still, it could be even harder to get them back in action.
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