One of the Kremlin’s newest and most capable main battle tanks was reportedly destroyed this week in Ukraine.
The news comes as the balance of power among these battlefield behemoths is also shifting, according to recent intelligence.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense shared recently recorded video footage that showed the destruction of a Russian T-90 MBT.
‘Annihilated Armor’: Ukraine Footage Shows Putin’s Best Tanks Destroyed
“Operators of the ‘Rarog’ strike drone company of the 24th Mechanized Brigade damaged the newest russian tank T-90, and prevented its evacuation with another hit. Two drones worth several thousand dollars destroyed a tank worth three million dollars. This is what modern warfare looks like,” tweeted (@DefenceU).
The footage captured a loitering munition striking the disabled tank to ensure that it could not be recovered and repaired.
According to Newsweek, a T-90 tank can cost around $4.5 million. The news outlet cited data from Dutch open-source intelligence analysts Oryx, which reported that Russia has lost 35 T-90A, one T-90AK, and seven T-90S MBTs since February 2022.
That estimate is considered conservative; the actual losses of modern Russian MBTs could be much higher.
Balance of Tank Power
The destruction of another T-90 may not seem all that significant, but Russia has continued to lose its MBTs at a far greater rate than Ukraine. It was reported earlier this week that the Kremlin had 3,417 of these tanks in active service at the start of its unprovoked invasion. According to Oryx estimates, which, again, are likely quite conservative, the Kremlin’s forces have lost more than 2,000 tanks in the fighting.
At the same time, Ukraine had 987 tanks at the start of the war, according to data from The Military Balance for 2023.
Even though Ukraine has seen some of its Western-supplied MBTs destroyed or damaged in recent fighting, Ukraine’s tank fleet has grown, and it will continue to do so, as the West has pledged to send additional modern tanks. Meanwhile, Russia, stung by its losses, has resorted to employing Cold War-era vehicles that are ill-suited to the modern battlefield.
Moreover, the quality of the tanks is not the only thing that matters here. Quantity is also important, and Bloomberg reported last week that Ukraine currently has 1,500 active tanks, compared with around 1,400 in Russian service.
This doesn’t mean that Russia cannot call up more tanks. On paper, it has a tank fleet of around 12,000. The question is how many are actually serviceable. It is believed that many of these machines have little value beyond scrap metal. However, videos on social media do purport to show old vehicles being upgraded and deployed to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Drone Warriors
The Ukrainian Army’s 24th Mechanized Brigade, the oldest unit in continuous service with the Ukrainian military, has been involved in a series of engagements against the Russian Army, the Wagner Group, and pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.
Its Rarog company is named for a mythological fire demon.
The Propaganda of Destroyed Tanks
Videos of destroyed tanks in so-called viral videos that make the rounds on social media are proving to be propaganda tools for both Kyiv and Moscow. So, too, are the recovered enemy vehicles.
Last year, Kyiv displayed destroyed Russian tanks in the town center. Other vehicles were sent on a road show of sorts throughout Europe to help dispel the myth of Russian invincibility.
Now there are reports that the Russian government may employ a similar tactic. The Russian Duma has tasked the Defense Committee to iron out a plan to display destroyed Western MBTs outside of their producers’ respective embassies in Moscow. Though the plan may be to embarrass the West, it could backfire, as it would show the Russian people the widespread support Kyiv has received and make them question why Russia hasn’t achieved victory yet.
Operators of the “Rarog” strike drone company of the 24th Mechanized Brigade damaged the newest russian tank T-90, and prevented its evacuation with another hit.
Two drones worth several thousand dollars destroyed a tank worth three million dollars. This is what modern warfare… pic.twitter.com/WjKKSHg2ak— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 12, 2023
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.
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