Russia has lost 90% of tanks it had at time of invasion of Ukraine - Forbes
Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the terrorist state has lost 90% of the tanks it had at the time of the invasion. In February 2022, the Russian Federation had 2,987 tanks, and after 23 months of fierce fighting, it has lost at least 2,619 of these armored vehicles.
This is stated in the article by Forbes, Censor.NET informs.
It is noted that these are 1,725 destroyed, 145 damaged, 205 abandoned and 544 captured T-55, T-62, T-72, T-80 and T-90. The article adds that if the Kremlin had no other options to replace its military losses, the occupiers would currently have only 368 tanks at their disposal. However, the Russian Federation has something to make up for the losses. In particular, it is the production of new T-90M tanks by the Uralvagonzavod plant, as well as the repair and modernisation of old tanks by four other companies.
At the same time, the Kremlin claims that in 2023 it received 1,500 new and modernized tanks through "intensive industrial efforts". Forbes suggests that because of this, Russia should have 2,400 tanks in service, but there "should be much fewer".
"Therefore, Russia may not be producing as many new and modernized tanks as the Kremlin claims," the publication said.
An analysis by the French intelligence group ARI shows that the Russian industry produces only 390 tanks a year.
"This means that in 2022 and 2023, it could build or repair only 780 tanks. If this is true, the Russian armed forces could be reduced to 1,180 tanks. Perhaps a little more tanks than the Ukrainian Armed Forces currently have," Forbes added.
On 13 December, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence stated that Russia could produce or repair about 100-150 tanks in a month.
