The invasion of Ukraine clearly caused significant losses to Russia, including in terms of war vehicles such as tanks. Why do Russian tanks seem weak and easily destroyed by Ukraine?
As quoted by us from Interesting Engineering, many photos and videos are scattered on social media, showing a damaged Russian tank with a missile. In fact, according to Business Insider, Ukraine managed to destroy about 10% of Russian military equipment.
The data seems inaccurate, but it is true that Russia will have to deal with advanced anti-tank weapons such as the Javelin from the United States or the Next Generation Light Antitank Weapon missile from the UK. So do not be surprised if many Russian tanks were successfully ambushed.
According to the Oryx website, Russia may have lost about 279 in its invasion of Ukraine, of which 116 tanks were destroyed, 4 damaged, and 41 abandoned. About 118 tanks were captured by the Ukrainians.
That sounds like a huge number but Russia has around 12,000 battle tanks even though most of them are old-school designs from the Soviet Union, like the T-72, which is around 50 years old. The figure for the loss has not yet been confirmed to be precise, it could be propaganda.
Well, the number of damaged Russian tanks in Ukraine has made some experts even think that tanks may no longer be effective as combat vehicles. However, the conclusion was judged hasty.
So why do Russian tanks seem to be easily disabled? "The main problem seems to be Russia's inability to supply and maintain the tank. Most of its war vehicles are also poorly maintained and the supply line is too broad," said Interesting Engineering.
"Not only that, large units of the tank appear to be exposed without any infantry or air support, a major drawback. Indeed, older tanks such as the T-72, are technically inferior to modern tanks. But that does not mean they are not lethal if cared for and used effectively. , " they added.