How Has Russia Lost 2,103 Tanks in Ukraine War?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) Russian tanks simply continue to get decimated by Ukrainian forces in the ongoing war, and the current counteroffensive may well be accelerating the pace at which more Russian tanks are destroyed. 

There are many reasons for this, including simple Ukrainian tenacity, tactical proficiency, anti-tank weapons and of course rockets, artillery and armored vehicles. Ukrainian success has raised new questions about modern warfare and the combat utility of the main battle tank. While tanks themselves are likely not going anywhere, the war in Ukraine has highlighted the effectiveness of anti-armor weapons and tactics and also pointed to how tanks can best be employed in combat. 

Exact numbers of destroyed Russian tanks can be difficult to come by, yet numerous estimates place Russian tank losses in the thousands, with many suggesting Russia has already lost more than one half of its tank fleet. What is increasingly significant about this is that Ukrainian forces seem to increasingly be finding enterprising ways to destroy tanks and build upon their initial success with anti-armor weapons. Artillery, drones, armored vehicles and even air and missile attacks can destroy tanks, all in addition to the successful anti-armor weaponry the Ukrainians used to such great effect at the beginning of the war. 

An interesting open-source intelligence website called Oryx has catalogued thousands of destroyed Russian tanks, all while emphasizing that they can only confirm what they have documented and photographed. The Oryx site reports that 2,103 Russian tanks have been destroyed, damaged, abandoned or captured. Expert commentary on the Oryx site explains that the actual number of destroyed tanks is likely much larger than they have documented, as they can only confirm what they photograph and identify. However, the numbers are quite substantial, according to Oryx, which breaks down the 2,103 tanks as 1,323 destroyed, 120 damaged, 116 abandoned and 544 captured. 

During the opening days of the war, Russian tanks were obliterated by successful anti-armor weapons as Ukrainian fighters adeptly used terrain, urban settings, narrow passageways and choke points to isolate, ambush and destroy invading Russian armor. In more recent months, Ukrainian fighters have built upon this tactical success through the use of artillery, longer-range rockets, drones and most recently, the arrival of more armored vehicles such as Bradley’s and tanks. 

Numerous reports say Russia’s tank fleet has been so decimated that the Russian military has had to send WWII-era tanks such as T-55s to the war.