Forbes: over 23 months of war, Russia has lost 90% of tanks in Ukraine

Over the 23 months of the war in Ukraine, the Russian army has lost at least 2619 tanks. Given that the Russian armed forces entered the war in February 2022 with 2987 tanks, about 90% of this number has been destroyed in almost two years. Among them are 1725 destroyed, 145 damaged, 205 abandoned, and 544 captured T-55, T-62, T-72, T-80, and T-90 tanks.

Source. Forbes writes about this with reference to its sources.

According to the Military Balance database compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia started the war with 3417 tanks. At the beginning of the war, Russia had about 3,000 combat-ready tanks, Jakub Janowski, who is involved in compiling a list of military equipment losses for the Dutch website Oryx, told The Business Insider. By May 31, 2023, Oryx had counted a tank lost by Russia in 2001.

However, Bloomberg notes that the IISS analysis does not take into account equipment that was manufactured during the war and supplied to the troops. The Kremlin has the capacity to replace equipment that has failed: The Uralvagonzavod, which produces new T-90Ms, and four other enterprises that repair and modernize old tanks.

At best, Russia can produce 200 tanks a year, Admiral Tony Radakin, the commander of the British Armed Forces, said in July. By then, he had estimated Russian losses at 2,500 tanks. Oryx's data is considered conservative, as not all destroyed vehicles, especially those not on the front line, are captured on photos and videos.

In addition, after suffering heavy losses, Russia began to send old tanks that were in storage to the front, including those produced in the 1950s and 1960s.

Background. As a reminder, German Bild wrote that the Russian army's winter offensive failed – despite thousands of dead soldiers and hundreds of lost armored vehicles, the Russians did not advance even a kilometer, the publication writes.