The countries with the most tanks in the world in 2023, according to Global Fire Power 1:49
(CNN) --
Russia has reportedly lost up to half of its entire operational tank fleet since the start of the Ukraine war, according to data compiled by a monitoring group, as its military struggles to meet the objectives of the invasion of Vladimir. Putin.
These two graphs explain the extent of the shipment of Western tanks to Ukraine
Oryx, an open source intelligence website, has been collecting visual evidence of military equipment losses in Ukraine since the invasion of Russia began on February 24, 2022.
By Oryx's numbers, the tank fight has balanced the Ukraine way.
The group said this week it has verified 1,000 separate Russian tank losses in the war.
He said a further 544 Russian tanks had been captured by Ukrainian forces, 79 damaged and 65 abandoned.
That figure does not include losses that Oryx has not been able to visually confirm, said Jakub Janovsky, a military analyst who contributes to the Oryx blog.
He estimated that the actual toll could be closer to 2,000 tanks.
"Russia started the war with around 3,000 operational tanks... so it's very likely that Russia has lost half of (its) usable tanks," Janovsky said.
Tanks have been a major focus of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are seen as key to either Russia or Ukraine taking territory on the battlefield.
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By Oryx's numbers, the tank fight has balanced the Ukraine way.
By Oryx's count, the more than 500 tanks Ukraine has captured from Russia more than cover the 459 tanks it has lost.
And more tanks are on their way to the Ukraine.
ANALYSIS |
Does the West's decision to arm Ukraine with tanks bring NATO closer to a war with Russia?
Since last month, Kyiv has received promises of modern tanks from Germany, the United States, Britain and other Western partners.
In addition, those tanks are considered to have superior technology to those that Russia has deployed.
Ukrainian officials had repeatedly pleaded with their Western allies to provide modern main battle tanks that could be used not only to defend their current positions but also to take the fight into enemy territory.
This is how soldiers train to handle Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 tanks 3:07
flawed armor
Meanwhile, the Russian armor has fared poorly in the Ukraine.
Just months into the war, analysts noticed a design flaw in Russian tanks that meant that a single incoming anti-tank round could blow up their ammunition reserves.
Often the resulting explosion blows up the turrets of Russian tanks in what has been called a "jack-in-the-box" effect.
Experts have also noted that Russian armor was poorly maintained before the war and some tanks in storage may have been searched for parts to keep those sent to the front lines running.
Janovsky said that Moscow had about 4,000 tanks in reserve before the war started.
"On paper, Russia still has a lot of tanks, but many were not properly stored and could be difficult to reactivate quickly," he said.
Even assuming they could all get into action, Moscow has still lost about 30% of its pre-war tank force, Janovsky said.
Janovsky previously told CNN that manufacturing new replacement tanks will be difficult for Moscow.
What do the Russians think about the supply of tanks to Ukraine?
3:28
“Because of the sanctions, they may have to replace sensors and electronics with inferior alternatives, and the amount they can produce in the short term is a fraction of what they are losing.
Those material losses… are not sustainable,” he said in September.
Russia's total equipment loss figure, when infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and others are added to tanks, is almost 9,100, says the Oryx website.
Ukraine's total equipment loss figure is 2,934, says Oryx.
war in ukraine
