Since invading Ukraine, Russia has lost nearly half of its tanks, reports say.
The London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies released a report on the damages that Russia has taken since it attacked Ukraine. According to the report, Russia has lost close to 2,000 tanks, causing Russia’s troops to rely on older and less equipped armory in order to stay on the offense.
An independent military intelligence group known as Oryx issued its own report saying Russia has a confirmed loss of more than 1,700 tanks since the beginning of the war.
Henry Boyd, a research fellow at the institute, said he believes Russia’s losses are even greater. “I would suspect the actual figure is somewhere between 20% and 40% higher than that,” he said. Boyd’s research suggests Russia’s loss is around 2,000 to 2,300 tanks.
Sean Spoonts, editor-in-chief of Special Operations Forces Report and a U.S. Navy veteran, told Newsweek, “The Russian army’s ability to sustain their own equipment in the field is dismal. Tanks break down more under combat conditions, and we’ve seen lots of photographs of Russian tank ‘dumps’ found by Ukraine after advancing, where disabled tanks sat unrepaired in the dozens. So not only are their combat losses very serious, they are unable to get tanks back into action that suffer mechanical breakdowns in the field. This is likely due to a shortage of spare parts and trained technicians.”
Over the yearlong war, both Ukraine and Russia have grown thin on weapons. According to The Wall Street Journal, the institute estimates between 450 and 700 Ukrainian tank losses, leaving about 950 operational, the report says.
Following pleas by Ukraine’s leaders to its Western allies, many countries under the NATO alliance have promised to transport tanks to Ukraine, hoping to speed up the end of the war.