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Study says Russia has lost over 3,000 tanks in Ukraine

13.02.2024 12:00
Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks during its invasion of Ukraine, the equivalent of its entire prewar active inventory, a leading military research centre reported on Tuesday.
A Russian fighting vehicle destroyed by Ukrainian troops, March 7, 2022.
A Russian fighting vehicle destroyed by Ukrainian troops, March 7, 2022.Photo: Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

However, Moscow has enough lower-quality armoured vehicles in storage for years of replacements, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said, as quoted by the Reuters news agency.

Ukraine has also suffered substantial losses since the invasion started in February 2022, but Western military supplies have enabled it to replenish its stocks while upgrading quality, according to the institute's 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," the report said, according to Reuters.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies assessed that 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," Reuters reported.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.

Tuesday is day 720 of Russias war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: Reuters, PAP