As of: March 14, 2024, 5:07 p.m
By: Simon Schröder
Comments
Press
Split
Russia's most modern tanks are exhausted.
Now Putin is falling back on the old Soviet stocks.
What this could mean for the Ukraine war.
Moscow – According to the “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW for short), modern Russian tanks are slowly becoming scarce.
The best tanks in the Russian army are already either in service at the front or have been destroyed by Ukraine.
Dara Massicot, a senior member of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Russia and Eurasia Program, believes that Russia has already used up its best equipment and only has "worse" or "useless" equipment in Putin's strategic reserves.
The Russians' remaining inventory is dwindling drastically in view of the now two-year war in Ukraine.
To compensate for the current wear and tear on the Ukrainian front, Russia is relying primarily on old Soviet-era tanks.
Russian tank reserves partially used up – Putin sends old tanks to the front
According to an analysis of satellite images, Russia has so far used up a good 25 to 40 percent of its tank reserves from open-air storage facilities.
Although the ISW cannot independently confirm this report, it can be seen that the armor wear is enormous.
Russia currently does not have the capacity to produce enough new vehicles to replace the current material losses with new tanks.
Above all, modernized, old tanks have to be used.
A Russian tank fires on enemy positions in the Kupyansk region during the Ukrainian war.
© Russian Defense Ministry/Imago
Despite the war economy: Putin's tank factories cannot keep up with production
According to the business magazine
Forbes,
Russia had a total of 2,987 tanks before the war began in February 2022.
After two years of war, a total of 1,725 were destroyed by Ukrainian forces, 145 were damaged, 205 were abandoned, and 544 were captured by the Ukrainians.
The Russian tank industry is working at full speed in order to be able to almost replace the losses.
The Uralvagonzavod factory in southern Russia produces new T-90M tanks.
Four other facilities are modernizing the old Soviet tanks in order to send them to the front in a combat-ready manner.
Even if you believe the Russian figures, as of February 2024, Vladimir Putin has fewer tanks than he had two years earlier - despite the war economy.
Ukrainian analysis paints a bleak picture: far fewer tanks than previously assumed
According to official Russian figures, the Kremlin army currently has almost 2,400 tanks up its sleeve.
An analysis by the Kiev-based military news site
Militarnyi
paints a very different picture.
The Russian war industry could only produce 390 tanks per year.
Minus the losses, that would mean that just 1,180 tanks - just under half - are ready for use in the Russian army.
My news
Putin threatens Finland and Sweden: “Destruction systems will be relocated” read
Ukraine armada unnerves Russia blogger: read drone number “unimaginably large”.
GDL demands too moderate?
In the rail dispute, the Left wants a 30-hour week with full wage compensation
1 hour ago
Vote on Taurus deliveries: These are the dissenters from the Ampellesen
2 hours ago
Dispute over Taurus deliveries – Strack-Zimmermann: “This allegation is already strong talk” read
Russia openly threatens to shoot down NATO jets – read “return of particularly aggressive attitude”.
So far, Putin has given the impression of a long-winded Russia that can outlast the West through tireless war production.
And recent successes for Putin in the Ukraine war, such as the blocked US aid package in the House of Representatives or the capture of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, proved the Russian ruler right.
What the actual status of the Russian reserves is is uncertain.
In any case, it is certain that Putin's resources are slowly becoming scarce.
(SiSchr)