Why Are Thousands of Russian Tanks Getting Obliterated?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

Why are Russian tanks so vulnerable? There continues to be a massive amount of documented photos and scenarios involving the destruction of Russian tanks at the hands of Ukrainian mechanized forces, drones, rockets and dismounted fighters with anti-armor weapons. 

Is there something implicitly flawed about Russia’s employment of tanks? Certainly several things come to mind, including what some former military generals have said, simply that Russia is not very skilled at combined arms maneuver.  Alongside questions of Russia’s tactical failures, some wonder if advanced anti-armor weapons have made tanks somewhat obsolete or less threatening on a modern combat environment.  The US Marine Corps Force Design, for example, cites anti-tank weapon success in Ukraine as a reason for the Corps to decrease its amount of heavy tanks in favor of more expeditionary weapons such as drones, high-speed anti-armor weapons and shoulder-fired anti-tank guided missiles. 

There is also the question of Ukraine’s resolve, tenacity, tactical adeptness and sheer intensity to attack Russian armor, and Russian tanks have proven vulnerable to top-down attacks. Russia’s tank fleet is also not only massively impaired but potentially not sufficiently upgraded to withstand more advanced attacks. Finally, there is the ongoing question of Russian morale, as many Russian soldiers are abandoning their vehicles and simply may not want to kill Ukrainians. 

Russian Tank Destruction

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 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.