Russia vs Ukraine Weapon Strength: Tank Force, Artillery Platforms & Surface to Air Missiles (SAMS)

Video Above: What Will Russia’s Attack on Ukraine Look Like? Tanks? Even Hypersonics?

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

As Russian missiles strike airfields and key military targets throughout Ukraine and Russian armored ground vehicles advance from Belarus toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, many are likely to wonder what kind of defenses might Ukrainian ground forces be able to use to counterattack? 

Interestingly yet not surprisingly, Ukraine’s military operates largely Soviet-era Russian-built equipment. The extent to which Soviet-era tanks, armored personnel carriers and howitzers have been upgraded in recent years may not be fully known, yet the largest difference between Ukraine and Russian ground armies may simply be numbers. Global Firepower’s 2021 assessments state Russia operates as many as 12,000 tanks, whereas the same cites list Ukraine as operating merely several hundred. 

Ukrainian Tank Force 

The Ukrainian tank force is largely comprised of Cold-War era, Russian-built T-72s, T-80s and T-84s. The newest tank, the T-84, is described by Global Firepower as an upgraded Ukrainian variant of the Soviet-era Russian T-80. The T-84 is listed as having emerged in 1999, and Ukraine is listed as operating about one-third as many armored vehicles as Russia’s force of 30,000.. The fact that the Ukrainian T-84 it dates all the way back to 1999 is not particularly of concern, as weapons, thermal sights, computing, ammunition and other technologies may have been substantially upgraded. The US Army Abrams tank, for example, may originally be a 1980s platform, yet years of upgrades have made it almost an entirely new vehicle, capable of rivaling if not out matching the best tanks in the world. 

Russia-Ukraine Tank-on-Tank Equation

The real question with any Russia-Ukraine tank-on-tank equation, regardless of the relative sophistication of the tanks themselves, is simply one of numbers. Massive formations of Russian tanks, should their weapons ranges and precision targeting be comparable or superior to Ukrainian tanks, would likely overwhelm and destroy Ukrainian tanks. The Russian tank force is made up of T-72s, upgraded T-80s and T-90s and possibly even a small number of new, high-tech T-14 Armata tanks. 

Self-Propelled and Towed Artillery Platforms

Apart from tanks, the Ukrainians might seek to slow down or damage incoming Russian armored vehicles with its self-propelled and towed artillery platforms. Ukrainian artillery, however, is quite old and seems to be limited in range. The newest Ukrainian system, the Model 1963, emerged in the 60s and is listed as having a firing range of roughly 13 miles. While it is quite likely to have been upgraded since its introduction decades ago, the weapon may operate with a distinct range disadvantage when compared to Russian long-range artillery systems.