Russian troops can bear heavy losses in armoured vehicles for three more years, replacing damaged tanks with old ones, experts of the International Institute for Strategic Studies believe.
Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies claim that the Russian Armed Forces have lost more than 3,000 tanks during the special military operation in Ukraine, which is equivalent to Russia’s entire pre-war operational arsenal.
It is learnt that Moscow has traded quality for quantity, withdrawing thousands of old tanks from warehouses at a rate of up to 90 per month.
“Given the scale of the stored equipment, Moscow could potentially suffer about three more years of heavy losses and replenish tanks from stockpiles, even if they are lower, regardless of its ability to produce new equipment,” the report said.
According to Military Balance, Russia has 1,750 main battle tanks, ranging from the T-55 from the 1950s to the modern T-80 and T-90. Another 4,000 tanks are in storage.
We will remind, earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to servicemen at the Vishnevsky hospital said that the Russian Federation intends to end the conflict in Ukraine, but on its own terms. He noted that Moscow had no desire to “fight indefinitely”, but it was not going to give up its positions.