Vladimir Putin has lost thousands of tanks since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – and is now equipping his troops with relics from the Cold War.
An analysis by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) showed Russia lost more than 3,000 tanks, the equivalent of its entire pre-war active inventory.
The leading research centre indicated in its yearly Military Balance, unveiled on Tuesday, that the Kremlin is now “trading quality for quantity” and replacing the military vehicles with years-old ones.
Despite being under constant Russian fire and having a much smaller army than that of the Kremlin, Ukraine has been able to deal considerable damage to Russia over the past two years, with Moscow losing an estimated 1,120 tanks during 2023 alone.
Nevertheless, Moscow is not facing a shortage of tanks, as it has at its disposal enough Soviet-era vehicles to replace the damaged ones for several years.
The report read: “Moscow has been able to trade quality for quantity though, by pulling thousands of older tanks out of storage at a rate that may, at times, have reached 90 tanks per month.”
The stored inventories would allow the Kremlin to “potentially sustain around three more years of heavy losses and replenish tanks from stocks, even if at lower-technical standard, irrespective of its ability to produce new equipment”, the report added.
The Military Balance said that, among its active force of 1,750 main battle tanks, Russia counts both modern T-80s and T-90s and T-55s – a series of battle tanks introduced after World War 2.
But while this support may be delivered to Kyiv, the eastern European nation may see Washington leaving its side if Donald Trump returns to the White House in November, as he previously pledged to stop spending US taxpayer money on this conflict.
Russia, on the other hand, can currently count on sales of drones from Iran and ammunition from North Korea, there to replenish its stock while its war economy gets into full steam.
Speaking to the Sun, Mr Barry added that the world is in a “more dangerous decade” due to the war in Ukraine and the other conflicts and clashes in the world.
