As of: March 27, 2024, 4:09 a.m
By: Simon Schröder
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Press
Split
Russia suffers significant losses in military equipment in the Ukraine war.
Tanks in particular are affected.
But Putin's resources appear to be surprisingly large.
Moscow – The Russian wear and tear on military equipment in the Ukraine war is enormous.
The tanks in particular are hit particularly hard.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian army has been able to take out around 3,000 tanks, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
According to Ukrainian reports, there are twice as many, but the numbers cannot be independently verified.
Using Western equipment and weapons, Ukraine has repeatedly been able to eliminate heavily armored Russian vehicles.
But supplies from Vladimir Putin's tank factories initially seem endless.
However, there is also a glimmer of hope: Nick Reynolds, military analyst, told
CBC
that "Russia still has a lot of tanks left because it spent too much money on defense during the Soviet era." That's why it's mainly old tanks that are being removed from the cold at the moment War mobilized, modernized and sent to the front.
Putin's tanks are becoming scarce: Old Soviet stock as replacements on the Ukrainian front
The quality of the tanks is constantly decreasing.
The T-54 tank, for example, is a model from World War II, while the T-55 tanks come from the Cold War.
And both models are also used in the Ukraine war.
Peter Samsonov, a tank expert and author, was surprised: "I didn't even expect that Russia still had one of these chassis available," Samsonov told the Canadian news channel
CBC
.
A Russian T-90 tank fires during field demonstrations as part of the International Military Technical Forum “ARMY-2015” at the Russian Armed Forces “Patriot” Park in Kubinka, Moscow Region, Russia, June 18, 2015. © Yuri Kochetkov/picture alliance / dpa
Above all, this shows that Russia's reserves are finite.
How long Putin can maintain the supply of tanks is unclear.
However, the dwindling base of Russian vehicles gives Kiev cause for hope.
In the fight against the expensive tanks, Ukraine's ingenuity proved to be a real strength in the war.
By repurposing cheap drones, the Ukrainian army has so far been able to stand up to Russian tanks.
Secret weapon drones: How the Ukrainians cost-effectively destroy Putin's tanks
The use of drones is proving to be a real secret weapon in the Ukraine war.
The
Kyiv Post
gives the following calculation: A so-called FPV (First Person View) drone costs around $17,000 with equipment.
The Russians' modern T-90 tank, on the other hand, can fetch up to $4.5 million, as
Forbes
recently reported.
And the modern T-90 tanks are slowly becoming scarce.
Even the old T-72 tank from the 1970s costs around $500,000, many times more than the Ukrainian drones.
So far, the high losses do not appear to be a cause for concern for Putin.
Because: Putin has great ambitions.
Russia should regain its old greatness following the Soviet model.
Andrii Kharuk, a Ukrainian military historian, gives his assessment: "Rebuilding an empire within the borders of the former USSR is Putin's goal, and the loss of tanks is a perfectly acceptable price to pay for it."
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Likewise, Russian soldiers are tirelessly sent to the front.
Much like the old Soviet tanks that are worn out at the front, Putin sees soldiers as an expendable resource.
“At best, young Russian men are treated as if they have a duty to Russia to fulfill, regardless of the personal consequences to them, or in the less attractive parts of the Russian ground forces they are seen as mere resources to be consumed,” how military analyst Reynolds assessed the situation.
(SiSchr)