Russia's tank reserves dwindle: Storage empty by 2025, says ISW
According to an analysis conducted by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian Federation Army relies on equipment from storage facilities. Experts estimate that Russia's storage facilities will be empty by autumn 2025 at the current rate of losses.
The remaining equipment in Russian storage, needed for conducting battles in Ukraine, is of interest to many experts, who continuously analyse the numbers of lost vehicles and those still waiting to be sent to the front. According to analysts from the ISW, the Russian army currently relies mainly on repaired tanks taken from storage. In this way, the military attempts to replace lost equipment. In the long run, the aggressor's army will not have sufficient equipment.
Losses match production
Recently, Viktor Kevliuk, an expert from the Ukrainian Defence Strategies Centre, cited by the Ukrainian agency Unian, spoke about the losses suffered by Russia, stating that the Russian Federation currently produces and refurbishes up to 160 tanks monthly. This means that local troops gain about 1,920 tanks a year. This number matches the number of tanks being destroyed in the same period.
According to data from the portal Oryx, Russian troops have so far lost 3,558 tanks (in practice, there might be more) since the outbreak of the full-scale war, which is roughly the same as how many tanks the Russian Federation could have produced and refurbished during this time.
According to Kevliuk, it is also significant that, in essence, Russia does not have large production capabilities in the context of tanks. His calculations show that the Russian defence industry produced about 560 tanks. The remaining constructions are storage reserves. According to Unian, if the pace of production and losses continues, Russian reserves will be depleted by autumn 2025.
Russian tank losses
It should be noted from previous calculations that Russians are losing a lot of tanks from the T-90 family – including the latest model T-90M Proryv with a 125 mm 2A46M-5 calibre gun, an improved fire control system, and reinforced reactive armour Relikt.
Additionally, Russians regularly lose other valuable constructions – T-80BVM and T-72B3. The former is primarily characterised by durable armour. Both, however, feature advanced optoelectronics, which, in combination with efficient guns, enable the effective detection and elimination of enemy vehicles on the front – it's no wonder that Ukrainians have taken a liking to destroying these tanks. The T-72 tanks of the Russian Federation army are also frequently destroyed.
