Russia has lost almost all armored vehicles in service since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to a count based on the statements of independent analysts, more than 85 Kremlin tanks were lost in the 23 months of fighting, says Forbes, Wednesday, January 10, 2024, forwarded by L'Indépendant.
This means that the Russian armed forces have deployed 2,987 tanks to the front since February 2022, but have already lost 2,619. These are T-55, T-62, T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks. Specifically, 1,725 were destroyed, 145 damaged, 205 abandoned and 544 captured. Theoretically, Russia would now only have 368.
Insufficient capacities
These capabilities are considered far from insufficient to deal with Ukrainian combat vehicles, which are estimated to number nearly a thousand between pre-war tanks, restored tanks and preserved tanks. Nevertheless, the Kremlin announced that it had tripled its production in 2023 with the introduction of modernized tanks after intensive industrial efforts. If these announcements are true, it would increase Russia's capacity to 2,400 tanks, according to Forbes.
Also read: War in Ukraine: What part of the country do the Russians occupy after their recent successes?
However, according to experts, this figure is clearly overestimated and Russia does not build as many tanks as it claims. In fact, the country only produces 390 tanks per year and therefore currently only has around 1,180, slightly more than the Ukrainians.
Also read: War in Ukraine: Kiev is running out of ammunition, but what are the real consequences?
Worse, Moscow would lose more tanks than it could replace, and it could soon run out of armored vehicles. A scenario that would prevent him from continuing a long war of attrition.