Russia relying on old stocks after losing 3,000 tanks in Ukraine,
leading military research center says
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[February 13, 2024]
By Greg Torode
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks during its
invasion of Ukraine - the equivalent of its entire pre-war active
inventory - but has enough lower-quality armored vehicles in storage for
years of replacements, a leading research center said Tuesday.
Ukraine has also suffered heavy loses since the invasion began in
February 2022, but Western military replenishments have allowed it to
maintain inventories while upgrading quality, the London-based
International Institute for Strategic Studies said in its annual
Military Balance report.
"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," said the report, a key reference tool
for defense analysts.
Russia's stored inventories mean Moscow "could 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 said.
Russia has an active force of 1,750 main battle tanks, ranging from
decades-old T-55s to its modern T-80s and T-90s, the Military Balance
said. It has a further 4,000 in storage.
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"The situation underscored a growing feeling of a stalemate in the
fighting that may persist through 2024," the Military Balance said.
Russia's defense ministry declined to comment.
The U.S. Senate is poised to pass a further military aid bill for
Ukraine this week.
With the conflict about to enter its third year, Ukraine's commanders
have signaled they are prepared to keep grinding down Russia's forces
across a 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front.
In an interview with Reuters in January, then-ground forces commander
Oleksandr Syrskyi said defense remained the priority even as he did not
rule out further offensive operations.
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![](../images/021324PIX/news_l94.jpg)
Ukrainian servicemen walk near destroyed Russian tanks, as Russia's
attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Izium, recently
liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine
September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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"Our goals remain unchanged: holding our positions... exhausting the
enemy by inflicting maximum losses," said Syrskyi, who last week
replaced Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the popular leader of Ukraine's forces
through the darkest days of the invasion.
Some analysts said the situation could test the ability of Russia's
vast arms industry to produce new tanks and other weapons amid
Western sanctions.
The Military Balance noted Russian industry executives had boasted
of surging military production, while Russian officials have noted
plans to resume production of its T-80 tank.
"It's an astounding figure," said Singapore-based defense analyst
Alexander Neill, referring to the estimate of 3,000 tanks lost.
"Some of those could have been older tanks, so one of the big
questions is how many of its most advanced tanks does it have left
for any major future offensives," added Neill, an adjunct fellow at
Hawaii's Pacific Forum think-tank.
More broadly, the report noted that global defense spending is up 9%
from 2022 and is poised to rise further in 2024.
(Reporting By Greg Torode; additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge
in Moscow; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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