The database includes all tank types currently employed by Russia’s military, notably T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s, and their modifications.Īccording to Oryx, an online investigative project documenting equipment losses in Russia’s war, Russia has lost at least 994 tanks as of Sept. The West’s significant investment in Ukraine’s anti-armor capabilities has resulted in the spectacular failure of Russia’s plans for a swift toppling of Ukraine.Īt the beginning of its full-scale invasion in Feb., Russia had around 3,330 operational tanks (2,840 with the ground forces, 330 with its naval infantry, and 160 with its airborne forces), according to the Military Balance 2021 database. Milley said in mid-June that the international community had provided Ukraine with 97,000 various anti-tank weapons.Īccording to Milley, this is “more antitank systems than there are tanks in the world.” A destroyed Russian T-72B3 tank pictured in Mariupol on Ma(Maximilian Clarke) and employed by highly-mobile Ukrainian units to ambush Russian convoys, has dramatically challenged the tank’s decisive role, however. The ubiquity of relatively inexpensive and handy anti-tank weapons, such as the now-legendary NLAWs, provided to Ukraine by the U.K.
Meanwhile, Russian forces still rely on tanks as a principal means of concentrated fire support, even during urban warfare. Due to a lack of field artillery, many Ukrainian crews practice indirect fire on targets out of the tank’s line of sight, howitzer-style.
Main battle tanks continue to serve their typical role: supporting the infantry, spearheading assaults, and exploiting breakthroughs, with mechanized infantry following them.ĭriven by necessity, Ukraine’s military has expanded the role of tanks in combat.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has demonstrated that all speculations on the end of the tank era have been somewhat premature.
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