Ukraine now has more tanks on the battlefield than Russia
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Thanks to European resupplies, Ukraine’s military now has more tanks on the battlefield than Russia does, according to the Pentagon.
Two months into the war, the delivery of Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Kyiv from the Czech Republic and other European Nato allies has effectively eroded Russia’s advantage, experts have claimed.
“Right now, the Ukrainians have more tanks in Ukraine than the Russians do, and they certainly have the purview to use them,” an unnamed senior US defence official told reporters on Thursday.
Ukraine’s armed forces have previously claimed Russia has lost more than 680 of its tanks, the majority of which were destroyed, while some changed hands after being found abandoned.
Experts have put the significant Russian losses down to the advanced anti-tank weapons Western nations have given to Ukraine, as well as poor maintenance, and lagging morale among Moscow’s recruits.
It was reported last month that Ukraine had more tanks as of March than it did at the February 24 start of the war. At the time of Russia’s invasion, the country boasted around 2,000 tanks.
Ukraine had managed to capture at least 161 from Russia on the battlefield, according to the military analysis site Oryx. For its part, Russia has captured 43 Ukrainian tanks, according to analysts who study photos and videos on social media.
It is not clear what the overall count of tanks is on either side, or whether Russia’s efforts to resupply those units will ultimately shift the balance of tanks engaged in Ukraine in Moscow’s favour.
