Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country has rapidly lost vast amounts of its military equipment, including the largest stockpile of Soviet-era military assets. According to Euromaidan Press, Kremlin generals had spent decades accumulating this formidable arsenal, anticipating a decisive showdown with NATO. Instead, Russia is now suffering immense losses in a war of attrition, with over half of its military hardware already consumed.
Experts predict that by 2026, these shortages will force Russia to either end the war or drastically change its approach to combat. The Insider’s investigation highlights the scale of this military erosion, documenting how Soviet-era equipment, once thought to be inexhaustible, is being wiped out faster than Russia’s military industry can replenish it.
Military tracking projects, such as Oryx, reveal a disturbing discrepancy in the losses sustained by both sides. Russia has lost more than 20,000 units of military equipment, compared to Ukraine’s 7,600. The disparity is even greater when it comes to armored vehicles: Russia has lost 11,600, while Ukraine has lost 3,800. When it comes to completely destroyed equipment, Russia’s losses include 2,600 tanks, 1,900 APCs, and 4,100 infantry fighting vehicles, while Ukraine’s losses are considerably smaller: 700, 800, and 900, respectively. Artillery losses follow a similar trend, with Russia losing nearly 2,000 pieces, while Ukraine’s losses are much lower.
Half of Russia’s equipment losses come from its once abundant Soviet-era stockpiles. Despite this, other military databases, such as WarSpotting and LostArmour, have reported similar trends, although their data is sometimes marred by challenges in verification, such as duplicate counts or unverified losses.
Recent battlefield data shows that Russian forces are struggling with mounting losses. During Ukraine’s 2024 Kursk offensive, Ukrainian forces lost around 10 tanks and 35 armored vehicles each month. In contrast, Russia’s losses during its ongoing Pokrovsk offensive are far worse, with monthly losses of 40 tanks and more than 80 armored vehicles.
The ability of Russia to replace its lost equipment is becoming increasingly difficult. Its production capacity is woefully insufficient for the scale of the war. For example, Russia manufactures only 250 T-90M tanks and 460 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles per year, which is less than half the amount it is losing in critical battles like those near Avdiivka and Pokrovsk.
The situation is similarly grim when it comes to Soviet-era stockpiles, which had long served as Russia’s strategic reserve. Satellite images from late 2024 reveal that only 41-52% of these reserves remain, and much of the remaining equipment is in poor condition. The usable inventory is now down to roughly 2,000 tanks, 2,000 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and 3,000 APCs – a dramatic decrease from the 1990 Soviet arsenal, which boasted 63,900 tanks and 76,500 armored vehicles.
Most of the remaining tanks in Russia’s stockpile are outdated T-62 models, while some vehicle categories, such as the MT-LB, have already been entirely depleted.
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