While many of Russia’s widely touted military systems have performed abysmally since the onset of the invasion, one set of equipment has fared particularly poorly.
Moscow’s fleets of main battle tanks (MBTs) have been obliterated by Kyiv and its arsenal of both domestic and Western-provided weapons.
Although Russia’s antiquated armored vehicles like the World War II relic T-54 were not expected to perform well against modern anti-tank weaponry, even the country’s newest and most “cutting edge” variants have suffered greatly throughout the invasion.
According to several intelligence trackers, Russia has probably lost more than half of its advanced tank fleet.
In late May, Forbes reported that more than 2,000 Russian MBTs had been destroyed, captured, or abandoned in the war.
T-90s, T-80s, and T-72s have suffered pretty equally at the hands of sophisticated anti-tank missile systems and lethal unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The American-made Javelin and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) have notably been instrumental in paralyzing Moscow’s tank fleet.
Watch a Russian T-72 Erupt in Flames
Last week, another Russian T-72 MBT was destroyed amidst Kyiv’s ongoing counteroffensive.
The open-source intelligence group Ukraine Weapons Tracker published a video showing the aftermath of the attack, which was carried out by artillery and FPV loitering munitions near Kreminna, Oblast. Similar videos have popped up consistently over the last year and a half, indicating that the Russian tank platform is not as formidable as the Kremlin often purports.
In May, the Russian Chechen Republic leader mirrored the Kremlin’s rhetoric surrounding its T-72 platform.
Ramzan Kadyrov asserted that the upgraded Russian tank could easily take down its American M1 Abrams counterpart, noting that the U.S. MBT was similar to a “children’s pedal car,” unlike the “Real power” of the T-72.
Ukrainian troops are expected to finish U.S.-led training on Abrams tanks by the end of the summer, a timeline that obviously worries Russia and its allies. The White House pledged to deliver 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to aid Kyiv’s defense efforts by Fall 2022 earlier this year, a promise that appears to be taking shape.
How Does the Ural Tank Compare to Western MBTs?
Designed for the Soviet Army in the 1960s, the T-72 MBT has evolved to represent a critical component of Russia’s military.
The “Ural” tank was largely derived from its T-62 predecessor and became an instant export success by the time it hit the production line.
The T-72 became the most widely used MBT by the Warsaw Pact countries prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Fitted with a 125mm smoothbore gun and a 12.7 anti-craft machine gun, the Ural tank can attack low-flying targets.
This Russian tank is technically faster than the M1 Abrams counterpart.
However, this is due in part to its lighter frame which is less outfitted for protection than its American counterpart.
The T-72 also lacks the capability to drive in reverse at speed, a critical capability that the Abrams and other Western battle tanks including Germany’s Leopard 2 possess.
Considering the American Abrams, German Leopards, and British Challengers that will shortly join Kyiv’s war efforts on the front lines, Russia’s remaining tank fleet is in trouble.
#Ukraine: The slow cookoff of a Russian T-72B3 tank which was destroyed by artillery and FPV loitering munitions of the Ukrainian army near Kreminna, #Luhansk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/atxDgA7dQ6
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) August 26, 2023
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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