Russia lost half its best tanks in Ukraine and is struggling to replace them, report says
- Its air force is largely intact, however, and may be deployed more actively in the next phase of the war, the International Institute for Strategic Studies says
- Moscow’s tank losses are estimated at between 2,000 and 2,300; Ukraine’s are at up to 700, but modern vehicles are on the way from the West
Russia has lost around half its best tanks in the year since it invaded Ukraine and is struggling to replace them, a leading research centre said, as Kyiv prepares to take delivery of modern battle tanks from the West.
But Moscow has preserved its air force largely intact and may deploy it more actively in the next phase of the war, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said.
In its annual Military Balance report, a key reference tool for defence experts, the IISS said loss rates for some of Russia’s most modern classes of tank were as high as 50 per cent, forcing it to rely on older Soviet-era models.
“They’re producing and reactivating nowhere near enough to compensate for those loss rates. Their current armoured fleet at the front is about half the size it was at the start of the war,” said Henry Boyd, research fellow at the IISS.
He estimated Russia’s tank losses at between 2,000 and 2,300, and Ukraine’s at up to 700.
Ukraine has secured promises of around 100 modern Western tanks, including the US Abrams, the German Leopard and the British Challenger, whose capabilities far exceed the older Russian models.
“That may well then translate through to less aggressive and less confident [Russian] tank actions as crews are more concerned about the threat level presented to them,” Boyd said.