According to Oryx, more than 1,200 T-72s were destroyed in the first year of fighting alone.
The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to deplete Russia’s main battle tank (MBT) inventories. While Moscow has also lost a considerable number of aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other munitions, its tank fleets have suffered a particularly hard blow at the hands of Ukraine’s Western-delivered weaponry. Since the onset of the invasion back in 2022, open-source intelligence analysts estimate that Russia has conservatively lost at least 4,000 MBTs. From poor logistics and harsh battlefield conditions to Kyiv’s advanced anti-tank arsenal and firepower, these MBTs have struggled to survive. Earlier this summer, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Moscow had lost nearly 11,000 MBTs throughout the war. While this estimate is likely exaggerated, and ascertaining exact figures associated with Russian tank losses remains a mystery, open-source analysis of photos and video footage provides dismal results.
The T-90
Despite its introduction as one of Russia’s newer tank series, the T-90 has not performed as well as expected in Ukraine. In fact, the open-source intelligence tracker group Oryx recently estimated that roughly 145 T-90s had been lost, captured, or destroyed in the last three-plus years of warfare. The more modern tank platform was derived from the Soviet-era program to replace the T-64, the T-72, and the T-80. While the T-90 appears similar to its predecessors, the MBT platform was designed with several key upgrades. Specifically, the tank sports elevated mobility, firepower, and range. The Russian MBT features a newer gun that can fire high-explosive (HE), HE-FRAG, or armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot rounds using 125mm ammunition.
The T-72
Russia’s older T-72 series has also struggled to keep up in the Ukraine war. According to Oryx, more than 1,200 T-72s were destroyed in the first year of fighting alone. Out of all of Russia’s MBT platforms, the T-72 is arguably the most popular. In fact, the Cold War-era tank remains in service with the armies of more than 30 nations. The latest iteration of this series was introduced in 2010 and is considered to be a third-generation tank. The T-72B3 features Relikt explosive reactive armor, enhanced fire control systems, and a 2A46M5 125mm smoothbore gun.
The T-80
Like the T-90, the T-80 represents one of Moscow’s newer tank platforms. Despite its improved capabilities, the T-80 remains vulnerable to some of the advanced Western weapons like the American Bradley Fighting Vehicle utilized by Ukraine in the war. When the platform initially reached operational capacity during the Cold War, the T-80’s sophisticated suspension and gas turbine engine made it more capable than the earlier series of tanks fielded by Russia. But while the engine provided superb speed and maneuverability, it also consumed too much fuel. Over the years, newer T-80 variants were introduced in order to rectify this issue. However, Russia has been forced to deploy older iterations of this platform as more of its tank fleet has been wiped out in Ukraine.
As MBTs continue to play a leading role along the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, estimated MBT losses will likely continue to skyrocket.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: ID1974 / Shutterstock.com
