Russia’s heavy military losses in Ukraine war are revealed - tanks, ships, artillery...

8 months ago
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The fighting in Ukraine has been tough for Russia's armored units, which were intended as a devastating vanguard that would collapse Ukrainian lines. Reuters cited an unnamed U.S. official who said the Russian army began the war with 3,100 tanks, of which 2,200 have been lost.
According to Newsweek, the gap has been filled with old platforms like T-62s produced in the 1970s. Moscow now has some 1,300 tanks in use, the agency reported. Some older tanks have been converted into static firing platforms, and even packed with explosives for use as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.
Among those lost are dozens of T-90 main battle tanks; Russia's most advanced combat-proven platform. The long-delayed introduction of the most modern system—the much-hyped but rarely seen T-14 Armata—was abandoned earlier this year, with the defense conglomerate Rostec citing ballooning costs.
The IISS Military Balance 2024 report says Russia has around 1,750 tanks of various types—including more than 200 of the T-90 variety—remaining, with up to 4,000 tanks in storage.
Russia's "god of war"—as Moscow's artillery has historically been known—has at times been muted by opposing Ukrainian gunners but is still playing a vital battlefield role. It has 4,397 guns of various types, according to the IISS. Ukraine claims to have destroyed more than 10,700 in the fighting to date.
In the air, Russia failed to wield its numerical superiority in the early stages of the war. Ukrainian aircraft are still flying regular sorties, and—supported by Ukraine's growing anti-air arsenal—have put much of the national airspace off limits to Russian planes.
Ukraine claims to have downed 347 Russian aircraft of all types since February 2022. The Oryx open-source intelligence website lists 97 aircraft destroyed and eight damaged.
The IISS reported that the Russian air force has around 1,169 fixed-wing aircraft—including 129 bombers, 188 fighters, 433 fighter/ground attack planes and 257 dedicated ground attack aircraft—plus 208 more assigned to naval aviation units. The air force also has some 340 attack helicopters, the Military Balance report said.
The Black Sea Fleet began the invasion with around 80 vessels. Ukraine claims to have destroyed 27 and forced at least 15 others in for repair. The Fleet's headquarters in the occupied Crimean city of Sevastopol has been destroyed, and several key dry dock facilities badly damaged.

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