The classified documents that were leaked online earlier this year by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, plant a bleak picture for Kyiv – as at least one report suggested Ukraine may be unable to win the war against Russia. However, it is worth noting it was just one assessment; and was based on information that can only be described as fluid.
For one, the report appeared to have been written before the Kremlin resorted to deploying T-62 tanks – not to mention even older T-54/55 series tanks – to Ukraine.
“The Russian military has continued to respond to heavy armored vehicle losses by deploying 60-year-old T-62 main battle tanks,” the U.K. Defense Ministry stated in a March 6 post to social media.
“There is a realistic possibility that even units of the 1st Guards Tank Army, supposedly Russia’s premier tank force, will be re-equipped with T-62s to make up for previous losses,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) added.
That hardly paints a rosy picture of Moscow’s forces.
As Forbes.com reported, Before Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the 1st GTA, which normally garrisons near Moscow, was slated eventually to swap its T-72 and T-80 tanks for Russia’s newest tank, the high-tech T-14. Instead, it is getting “hand-me-down” tanks that are older than the crews and likely some of their parents!
The Kremlin has been “upgrading” the tanks at a facility in the Russian Far East, but even enhanced T-62s are likely to be completely outgunned on the battlefield by Western-made modern main battle tanks including the British Challenger 2 and German Leopard 2.
Such could explain why the Ukrainian military – which has captured hundreds of Russian tanks to date – is taking a different course of action with a recovered T-62. Instead of sending it back in the fight as it has with captured T-72 and notably a T-80BVM MBT, Kyiv’s forces have realized that a T-62 is essentially a metal coffin for any tank crew looking to head into combat.
Recovered to Recovery Vehicle
It has been reported that Ukrainian engineers are turning a former Russian T-62 that was recovered in the Donbas region into a vehicle that could be used to recover other – and potentially higher value – tanks. Armored recovery vehicles have long played a critical role on the battlefield, ensuring that disabled tanks don’t fall into enemy hands, and are used to tow the damaged hulks back to friendly lines.
In the recent fighting, many more tanks have been damaged than destroyed in battle – and that fact also explains why both sides have employed drones to drop ordnance to ensure the destruction of disabled enemy armor.
However, those vehicles that aren’t destroyed by low-flying drones can still be recovered, and the T-62 could actually serve well in such a role. It is lighter than modern main battle tanks but is still powerful enough to be used in towing operations.
“The crew of this vehicle is protected by tank armor, our specialists installed a crane, welded an armored ‘wheelhouse’ instead of a turret, and installed additional tanks and tools,” Roman Sinicyn, a military coordinator for the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, told Defence-Blog this week.
This particular T-62 was restored via a crowdfunding campaign – which raised UAH 1.6 million ($46,000) to pay for the restoration work and components. It is just the first T-62 to be transformed into a recovery vehicle, but may not be the last – as Russia is sending a large number of the Cold War-era tanks to the frontlines.
Those not destroyed outright or by drones could certainly be good candidates for future recovery vehicles.
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Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
