Russia has suffered significant tank losses since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine more than two years ago, and may only have a few thousand armored combat cars left, research based on synthetic intelligence (AI) from satellite imagery suggests.
The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) trained an AI model to read satellite images of 87 Russian army bases, adding 16 bases where tanks, artillery vehicles and armored personnel carriers are stored.
The AI model counted the number of tanks at those key sites before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, until today, to calculate the extent of the country’s tank losses during the war.
One such base, the army’s 111th Reserve Central Tank Base in southeastern Russia, which housed 857 tanks in April 2021, is now virtually empty, satellite imagery suggests. Just a few months after the start of the war, by October 2022 Russia had lost almost a part of those tanks, according to the newspaper. Analysis of other military installations shows a clear picture, SZ said.
Newsweek was unable to independently determine the extent of Russian tank losses and contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Michael Gjerstad is a research analyst in defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. He told SZ that he estimates Russia “still has about 3,200 tanks in stock. “
“But the vast majority of them are in poor condition and need primary repairs,” Gjerstad explained.
Moscow and kyiv have suffered significant tank losses during the war so far, according to public data.
Dutch intelligence and defense research Oryx has visually shown that 2,144 Russian tanks have been destroyed, 159 damaged, 352 abandoned, and 518 captured since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Oryx added that 581 Ukrainian tanks have been destroyed since the start of the war, of which 72 were damaged, 67 abandoned and 134 captured.
On Thursday, Kyiv’s military said Moscow had lost 8,042 tanks since the start of its full-scale invasion, adding 3 in the past 24 hours. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine publishes figures on the losses of Russian troops and apparatus as components of its report on the war. Newsweek may simply not be able to independently determine Kyiv’s figures.
Estimates of aircraft casualties and losses during the war vary, with Ukraine’s figures generally exceeding those of its Western allies. Moscow rarely stores data on the number of casualties or aircraft losses suffered during the war.
Gustav Gressel, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told SZ that he is sure that Russia “is wasting many more devices than it can replace, and that reserves are running out. “
“So it’s vital that Ukraine inflicts such significant losses on the Russians that the scenario will be critical for them at some point,” Gressel said.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek journalist founded in Kuala Lumpur. It focuses on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and in the past worked with media outlets such as Daily Express, The Times, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Grazia. She holds a master’s degree in news journalism from City University of London and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. in Russian language at Queen Mary, University of London. Languages: English, Russian
You can contact Isabel by emailing i. vanbrugen@newsweek. com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen
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