An open source analysis team in Georgia revealed on the 22nd that Russia is shipping T-54 and T-55 tanks, some of which have been in production for more than 70 years, from tank repair and storage centers in the Far East to the west. from Russia. The Washington Post reported that “some of the tanks were made in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era (he died in 1953).”
The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), headquartered in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, recently discovered the T-54 and T-55, Soviet main battle tanks of the late 1950s. in Arsenyi, Primorsky Krai, Primorsky Far East Russia. Yep released a photo of him being loaded onto a train and headed west. Arseniev is home to Russia’s 1295th Central Tank Repair and Storage Base. The T-54 is a tank that entered service in the late 1940s, and Russia produced around 100,000 T-54 and 55 tanks after the war.
The CIT report said, “Although it cannot be confirmed whether these tanks will serve on the Ukrainian front, they reveal serious problems with the Russian army’s tank supply.” Before this, in October last year, T-62M tanks were seen heading west on trains from the Arseniev tank depot. T-62M tanks were sent to the battlefield in Ukraine and many of them were destroyed. In use from 1965, the T-62M was the successor to the T-54/55 tank.
This is the first time that some tanks, such as the T-54 and 55, with production years of more than 70 years have been captured from the storage centers and transported. T-54 tanks were deployed during the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and the Vietnam War.
In this regard, the Washington Post said, “Given that Ukraine is currently awaiting the arrival of the German Leopard 2 and the American Abrams M1 tanks, the use of particularly old tanks, such as the T-54 series tanks, is a big threat. to Russia’s trouble. It’s to show,” he said. Even last year it was revealed that Russia’s elite troops were operating T-62 tanks introduced in 1961.
CIT said, “Although older tanks are more useful than anything, the main disadvantages of the T-54 and 55 series are the primitive sights, a poor gun stabilization system, and the lack of a range finder, ballistic calculator, and fire control system.”
The Institute of Warfare (ISW) in Washington DC also said on the 22nd, “Russia may judge that it can turn a war of attrition in its favor by sacrificing these old tanks, which are cheaper than Ukraine’s anti-tank weapons, in a war of attrition on both sides. If it is destroyed, even the tank crew will be lost, so it will not have a resource utilization ratio that is favorable to Russia.” In addition, using these old tanks with small guns and lack of capabilities would modern armor causes more heavy casualties to the Russian army, further reducing Russian military strength.
Meanwhile, Oryx, a Dutch open source group, estimated that Russia may have lost around 1,700 tanks from the Dutch 22nd, including 57 T-90s and 448 T-80s. This is said to be equivalent to half of the operational tanks that the Russian army had during the invasion of Ukraine in February last year. On the other hand, Ukrainian tank losses were estimated at around 500 tanks.
The London-based Institute for International Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated in February that the Russian army had lost more than 2,000 tanks.
