Russia may have lost hundreds of tanks in the two-month invasion of Ukraine.
Warfare experts attribute the decline to advanced anti-tank weapons Western nations gave the government by Volodymyr Zelensky. Also to the poor way in which Russia has used its military equipment.
According to Oryx, a military and intelligence blog that counts the losses of the Russian army in Ukraine based on photographs sent from the area of war, Moscow has lost more than 460 tanks and more than 2,000 armored vehicles.
According to the Rand Corporation and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia had about 2,639 battle tanks at the beginning of the conflict.
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How effective have the weapons been before? titanque?
United States supplied Ukraine 2, Javelin anti-tank missiles when the invasion began and since then you have sent at least 2, more.
These “javelins” are fired so that the missile explodes on top of a tank, where the armor is weakest , according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.
Many Russian tanks have reactive armor that absorbs the impact of missiles. However, the Javelins are equipped with two warheads, one affects the reactive armor and the second pierces the body of the tank.
In the same way, the United Kingdom has sent about 3,600 NLAW missiles. These are designed to explode when they pass over the top of the tanks relatively exposed turret (armored tower).
“The Javelin and NLAW are very powerful,” says Nick Reynolds, ground warfare research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “Without this lethal aid, the situation in Ukraine would be very different.”
The United States has also supplied Ukraine 100 Switchblade anti-tank drones. Known as “kamikaze” drones, they can hover over a target miles away from the operator and then drop onto a tank, destroying themselves with a pointed warhead.
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What about the Russian tactics?
Currently, the Russian Army operates through Battalion Tactical Groups (BTG), which are autonomous combat units made up of tanks, infantry and artillery.
The precise composition of these units may vary, but they generally comprise a large number of armored vehicles and relatively few infantry troops.
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“Russia has relatively few troops to call up“, says Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, “so that the BTG are a for ma to create a combat unit with a lot of power.
“They are designed to attack quickly with a lot of firepower. However, they have very little protection in terms of infantry personnel to escort them and retaliate if the armored column is attacked”, he says.
“That makes the Russian army like a boxer who has a big right hook and a glass jaw.”
Furthermore, O’Brien claims that the lack of air means that the Ukrainian troops have found it easy to reach certain positions that they allow to ambush columns of Russian tanks.
“Russia did not obtain air supremacy at the beginning of the conflict”, he maintains, “and that is why they cannot patrol the skies to detect the movements of the Ukrainian army”.
“This means that the Ukrainian troops have been able to place themselves in good firing positions for ambushes and have been able to cause a lot of damage in this way”, adds the professor.
Is there incompetence in the Russian army ?
According to Oryx figures, half of the tanks that Russia has lost have not been destroyed or damaged by the enemy , but have been captured or abandoned.
Experts attribute this to logistical failures and incompetence of the Russian troops.
“Photos have been seen of Russian tanks being pulled by Ukrainian farmers’ tractors”, he says O’Brien.
The expert also explained that some tanks were abandoned because they ran out of fuel. Others got stuck in the spring mud because – in what he described as logistical failures – the high command invaded at the wrong time of year.
“Russia’s ground forces are made up of many conscripts. That makes them, in global terms, a low to medium quality fighting force,” says Nick Reynolds of RUSI.
“Many tanks have been abandoned due to poor management. Some have been thrown from bridges. Others have been driven into ditches so that the tracks fall off. The ability of the troops to use their equipment has been lacking”.
“But often the soldiers just abandon their vehicles and run away. Therefore, the will to fight has also been lacking,” he added.
Faced with the actions of the Russian army, the Ukrainian government has even issued instructions on how citizens should hand over abandoned military vehicles.
The authorities also indicated that anyone who finds such “combat trophies” does not need to declare them for taxes.
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