Russia Won't Like These Numbers: Russia's tank losses in Ukraine are staggering, with estimates ranging from 3,000 to over 8,000, as Ukraine’s defensive tactics continue to dismantle Russian armor.

-Tracking site Oryx has visually confirmed 3,387 losses, though actual figures may be far higher. Ukraine's effective use of NATO-supplied Javelins, drones, and mines has exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s tank-centric strategy. Facing mounting losses, Russia has resorted to deploying aging T-62 tanks, which lack the armor of newer models.

-This reliance on older tanks reflects the attritional toll on Russia’s military as the prolonged conflict stretches the limits of its armored capabilities.

Russian Tank Losses Keep Piling Up 

How many tanks has Russia lost during its invasion of Ukraine?

Quantifying the true loss and impact of the Russo-Ukraine War is difficult. Pundits gravitate towards casualty and equipment losses to give reference points for the general public to try and understand the intensity complexity or intractability of a conflict. The ongoing war is no different. 

Surely, an entire region will be changed forever. Countless families were destroyed. Caustic environmental impacts. Billions in all of the world’s currencies are wasted. The war’s impact extends beyond casualties and equipment loss, but that can be a helpful starting point for understanding impact. So, let’s take a look at Russia’s tank losses.

Steel Coffins

Reports vary, and not all sources are verified, but some estimates place Russia’s tank losses over 8,000. Others place the figure as low as 3,000, so, we’re dealing with a wide range. 

But regardless, one thing is clear: Russia has lost many thousands of tanks. The tracking website Oryx has been compiling Russian tank losses since the beginning of the war. Oryx’s number: 3,387. But Oryx only counts a tank kill when video or still images can be used to confirm the kill. So we can assume the amount of Russian tank losses is much higher than the 3,387 that Oryx has visually confirmed.

The problem, for Russian tanks, is the effectiveness of Ukraine’s defensive capabilities. The NATO-supplied Javelin anti-tank missile, for example, has proven especially adept at defeating Russian armor. Drones and mines have proven similarly effective. In all, the Ukrainians have proven that low-tech, simple tools can be used to dispel expensive and sophisticated tanks.

The prominence of tanks in the conflict has been perplexing. 

“Many had assumed,” tank warfare was a thing of the past, Brandon Weichert wrote. “This was something few analysts believed the world would witness in their lifetimes again, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent Global War on Terror (GWoT), which was primarily a counterterrorism and counterinsurgency conflict. But everything old is new again.”

Tank attrition rates show no signs of slowing down. In just one day last month, Russia lost twenty-one main battle tanks. The attrition has forced mothballed Soviet tanks out of retirement; as tank losses have outpaced the production of new T-72 and T-90 models, Putin has been forced to rely on the ancient T-62.

“In my opinion, we will likely see more T-62s in the future and they will probably be one of the main tank types in the Russian army,” one prominent Twitter analyst wrote.

“This devolution – from modern T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s with their thicker armor to aged T-62s with thinner armor, it is an ominous sign for the Russian army as it attacks in Ukraine slow to a bloody grind,” Forbes reported.

Russian tanks are likely to continue falling, as the war grinds on, and as older tanks continue to come out of storage.

About the Author: 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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