​Russia lost more than 3,000 tanks in the war in Ukraine in February 2022, but has enough stockpiles of lower-quality armored vehicles to offset the losses for several years, according to an annual report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). from London, Reuters reports.

The document, cited by Reuters, states that the Russians were practically left without the equivalent of all active inventory before the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia could withstand losses for about three more years

The study shows that Moscow decommissioned thousands of old tanks, sometimes as many as 90 per month, and at this rate it could sustain losses for about three more years, even without the ability to produce new equipment.

Currently, the Russian military has 1,750 active tanks – from the T-55 models of a decade ago to the modern T-80 and T-90 – and stocks of another 4,000 tanks.

The IISS report notes claims by Russian industry leaders that military production has increased. Russian officials have spoken about plans to resume production of T-80 tanks.

Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based defense analyst, says the level of Russian losses – 3,000 tanks – is “staggering”.

• “Some of them may be older tanks, so one of the big questions is how many state-of-the-art tanks (Russia) has left for any major offensive in the future,” said the researcher, who is also a member of the Pacific Forum. think tank from Hawaii.

Heavy losses for Ukraine as well

Ukraine, in turn, has suffered heavy losses since February 2022, but the weapons provided by the West have allowed it to maintain its stocks in parallel with an increase in their quality, IISS notes, reports Agerpres.

In a recent interview with Reuters, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the priority will remain defense, but did not rule out new counterattacks.

“Our goals remain the same: to hold positions (…) to exhaust the enemy by inflicting maximum losses,” he said.

Last week, Syrsky took command of the entire army of Ukraine from General Valery Zaluzhny.

Globally, IISIS has recorded a 9% increase in defense spending in 2023 compared to the previous year and predicts this trend to continue this year.

The US Senate, the upper house of Congress in Washington, approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Wednesday, which now goes to the House of Representatives where it faces an uncertain fate, Reuters reported.

The package includes $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and $4.8 billion for Taiwan and other US partners in the Indo-Pacific region, CNN reports.

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