Russian tank losses just hit a terrible new milestone

On February 10th, the Ukrainian General Staff reported in its daily update on Russian losses that Moscow’s tank losses had surpassed 10,000 since Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is inching close to its three-year anniversary, but it did not take the full three years for Russia to reach its hefty tank losses. Ukraine’s General Staff noted that Moscow’s tank losses reached 10,014 on February 10th. 

Whether or not Ukraine's figures are correct is difficult to know. The information comes from a belligerent in the war and Russia does not provide any figures on its equipment losses. However, we do have some trustworthy third-party data. 

The Dutch open-source intelligence group Oryx has been tracking Russian and Ukrainian equipment losses since the conflict began using only verifiable and unique photo or video evidence. Oryx’s Russian tank loss figures are much lower than the Ukrainian General Staff’s numbers. 

As of February 11th, Oryx reported that Russian tank losses since February 24th, 2022, amounted to 3,740 verified units, 2,672 of which have been designated as destroyed, 157 damaged, 377 abandoned, and 534 captured. 

However, it is important to note that Oryx points out on its website that the total number of Russian equipment losses are likely higher than what it can prove due to the nature of the group’s verification process using only photo and video proof of a loss. 

“This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here,” Oryx explains. 

While we may not know the exact number of tanks Russia has lost, that figure is likely somewhere in between the projections from Oryx and the Ukrainian General Staff. But with such high losses, how has Russia been able to keep fighting?

In mid-December 2024, an analysis of satellite imagery showing storage facilities inside of Russia by the UK Ministry of Defence suggested Moscow has been able to stay in the fight through the use of older weapons systems, which have been drained from its vehicle storage bases. 

According to the UK Defence Ministry’s report, it is believed Russia has lost roughly 3,600 main battle tanks and 8,000 armored vehicles as of December 2024, these numbers mesh well with what Oryx has estimated, but these losses have resulted in Russia relying on older equipment.

The UK Defence Ministry reported that Russia has been relying on “outdated and poorly maintained Soviet-era equipment from strategic storage depots” and noted that Russia’s older “armored equipment is hauled out of storage and upgraded where possible.”

The older tanks and armored vehicles are being sent to the frontlines of the fighting in Ukraine according to the ministry’s report, and satellite images of key armored storage sites appear to confirm the claims. 

Satellite imagery of Russia’s armor storage bases at Arsenyev, Buy, and Ulan-Ude showed that both tanks and armored vehicles at the storage bases have experienced a major reduction since mid-2022. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceHQ

All three key storage bases show signs of a drastic reduction in the number of tanks or armored vehicles in their stockpiles based on images taken in 2022 and 2024, proving that Russian losses in Ukraine are likely draining Moscow's older stockpiles. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceHQ

Newsweek’s Alia Shoaib reported that the depletion of older Russian stockpiles of tanks and armored vehicles matters because it points to a growing strain on Moscow’s military stockpiles and its ability to “sustain prolonged offensive operations in Ukraine.”

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