Russia's aging, obsolete tanks are actually doing some serious damage in Ukraine, report says
Mia Jankowicz
Mon, May 22, 2023
A Russian T62 tank crosses the empty highway linking Tbilisi and western Georgia, August 21, 2008.MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images
Russia's tanks are still a formidable force in Ukraine, a new report has claimed, despite their age.
Though they aren't breaking through at the front line, they play significant support roles, it said.
There are three main ways Russian armor has adapted in the conflict, the report said.
Much has been made of Russia's need to bring decades-old tanks out of storage to send to Ukraine, amid major battlefield losses. But a new report describes how Russia is making effective use of its aging tanks and armor, even as the vehicles are barely able to push forward at the front line in Ukraine.
The report, based on multiple interviews with Ukrainian officers in the field, outlined areas where Russia has adapted after its bungled initial invasion last year.
Ever since their humiliating losses earlier in the war, Russian forces have stopped trying to use armor to break through Ukraine's ranks directly, the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) wrote in a report released Friday. Instead, Russian tanks nowadays effectively provide backup for artillery, long-range firepower, and quick raids.
"The Russian use of of armor has evolved significantly during the conflict," the authors wrote, adding: "While the introduction of older tanks such as the T62 and T55 to the field has been mocked online, these vehicles are largely being used in the role of the fire support function offered by BMPs and other infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs)."
Being able to fire from more than a mile away, when in places where anti-tank guided weapons are thin, the tanks "pose a serious battlefield threat," the authors said.
And although an "inefficient form of artillery," they write, tanks are notably less vulnerable, so can be used in a supplemental way where air defense is poor.
Russia has also been using its tanks — primarily its T80BV — for nighttime raids during Ukrainian troop rotations, the report said, with the aim "to rapidly approach the target sector, fire as many rounds as possible within a short space of time and withdraw."
And some Russian modifications and tactics have also made it harder to detect and hit Russian armor with anti-tank guided missiles, the authors wrote. Anti-thermal materials are now being used, as well as engaging in attacks at dusk and dawn — a moment known as "thermal crossover" — when the tank is at a temperature nearest to the ambient temperature, the report explained.
In recent months much has been written about Russia's military weaknesses, which exposed deadly gaps in a previously much-feared force. The Washington, DC, think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies said in February that Russia had likely lost more than 2,000 tanks since the start of the war, while its air force is hampered by strong Ukrainian air defenses, and morale in its army is legendarily poor.
But the RUSI report sounds a note of caution over other areas — such as bridge-building, engineering and electronic warfare — where Russia's army has shown high competence, and warned about areas, like tank wafare, where Russia's military has shown itself able to adapt.
Mia Jankowicz
Mon, May 22, 2023
A Russian T62 tank crosses the empty highway linking Tbilisi and western Georgia, August 21, 2008.MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images
Russia's tanks are still a formidable force in Ukraine, a new report has claimed, despite their age.
Though they aren't breaking through at the front line, they play significant support roles, it said.
There are three main ways Russian armor has adapted in the conflict, the report said.
Much has been made of Russia's need to bring decades-old tanks out of storage to send to Ukraine, amid major battlefield losses. But a new report describes how Russia is making effective use of its aging tanks and armor, even as the vehicles are barely able to push forward at the front line in Ukraine.
The report, based on multiple interviews with Ukrainian officers in the field, outlined areas where Russia has adapted after its bungled initial invasion last year.
Ever since their humiliating losses earlier in the war, Russian forces have stopped trying to use armor to break through Ukraine's ranks directly, the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) wrote in a report released Friday. Instead, Russian tanks nowadays effectively provide backup for artillery, long-range firepower, and quick raids.
"The Russian use of of armor has evolved significantly during the conflict," the authors wrote, adding: "While the introduction of older tanks such as the T62 and T55 to the field has been mocked online, these vehicles are largely being used in the role of the fire support function offered by BMPs and other infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs)."
Being able to fire from more than a mile away, when in places where anti-tank guided weapons are thin, the tanks "pose a serious battlefield threat," the authors said.
And although an "inefficient form of artillery," they write, tanks are notably less vulnerable, so can be used in a supplemental way where air defense is poor.
Russia has also been using its tanks — primarily its T80BV — for nighttime raids during Ukrainian troop rotations, the report said, with the aim "to rapidly approach the target sector, fire as many rounds as possible within a short space of time and withdraw."
And some Russian modifications and tactics have also made it harder to detect and hit Russian armor with anti-tank guided missiles, the authors wrote. Anti-thermal materials are now being used, as well as engaging in attacks at dusk and dawn — a moment known as "thermal crossover" — when the tank is at a temperature nearest to the ambient temperature, the report explained.
In recent months much has been written about Russia's military weaknesses, which exposed deadly gaps in a previously much-feared force. The Washington, DC, think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies said in February that Russia had likely lost more than 2,000 tanks since the start of the war, while its air force is hampered by strong Ukrainian air defenses, and morale in its army is legendarily poor.
But the RUSI report sounds a note of caution over other areas — such as bridge-building, engineering and electronic warfare — where Russia's army has shown high competence, and warned about areas, like tank wafare, where Russia's military has shown itself able to adapt.
A top Ukrainian commander fighting around Bakhmut says military experts who portray Russian soldiers as only 'stupid and miserable' are wrong
Bethany Dawson
Sun, May 21, 2023
Ukrainian artillery teams fire toward Russian positions in Bakhmut.Madeleine Kelly/Getty Images
A Ukrainian commander has contradicted suggestions of the poor state of Russian troops.
Andriy Biletsky, of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said Russian soldiers were not "stupid."
The comments come as President Zelenskyy said that Bakhmut was completely destroyed.
The commander of a Ukrainian brigade fighting on the frontlines in Bakhmut has dismissed the notion that Russian soldiers are ill-equipped and unhappy.
In a video posted on Telegram, Andriy Biletsky, a commander with Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said recent victories had not come at "an easy price."
The enemy is not as stupid and miserable as some experts show him to be," said Biletsky.
He added that "The enemy is stubborn and cruel. But we are moving forward. We gnaw out every meter of Ukrainian land. Slava Ukraini!"
Biletsky's comments contradict a lot of previous analysis on Russia's military, which has tended to suggest that troops are poorly equipped, lack training, and suffer from low morale.
The Telegram video comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded that Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been waging a particularly brutal battle, had been completely destroyed.
"They've destroyed everything. There are no buildings. It's a pity. It's tragedy," Zelenskyy said during a Sunday meeting with President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
"For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts," he added.
Zelenskyy's office later made it clear that he had not meant that the city had fallen to Russian troops, the BBC reported.
Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in action
Helmet camera footage of Ukrainian fighters on the frontlines.
Bethany Dawson
Sun, May 21, 2023
Ukrainian artillery teams fire toward Russian positions in Bakhmut.Madeleine Kelly/Getty Images
A Ukrainian commander has contradicted suggestions of the poor state of Russian troops.
Andriy Biletsky, of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said Russian soldiers were not "stupid."
The comments come as President Zelenskyy said that Bakhmut was completely destroyed.
The commander of a Ukrainian brigade fighting on the frontlines in Bakhmut has dismissed the notion that Russian soldiers are ill-equipped and unhappy.
In a video posted on Telegram, Andriy Biletsky, a commander with Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said recent victories had not come at "an easy price."
The enemy is not as stupid and miserable as some experts show him to be," said Biletsky.
He added that "The enemy is stubborn and cruel. But we are moving forward. We gnaw out every meter of Ukrainian land. Slava Ukraini!"
Biletsky's comments contradict a lot of previous analysis on Russia's military, which has tended to suggest that troops are poorly equipped, lack training, and suffer from low morale.
The Telegram video comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded that Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been waging a particularly brutal battle, had been completely destroyed.
"They've destroyed everything. There are no buildings. It's a pity. It's tragedy," Zelenskyy said during a Sunday meeting with President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
"For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts," he added.
Zelenskyy's office later made it clear that he had not meant that the city had fallen to Russian troops, the BBC reported.
Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in action
Helmet camera footage of Ukrainian fighters on the frontlines.
@11Knuk123 Twitter screenshot
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had made advances on the flanks around Bakhmut, where Biletsky's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has seen action.
Recent helmet-cam footage from the brigade represents the reality of the fierce fighting, showing a smoky ruin of Russian trenches littered with corpses after the unit mounted a series of surprise counterattacks.
Insider's Isobel Van Hagen reports the video depicts Ukrainian soldiers throwing grenades, firing their weapons, and advancing toward Russian positions.
In his video, Biletsky described battles earlier this week against Russia's 72nd Brigade and the so-called "Storm Z. " He called it "an analogue" of the Wagner Group units made up of released convicts, operated by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
He described hard-won victories that left "more than 50" Russians dead and the capture of "a lot of trophies: equipment, weapons, and prisoners."
The British Ministry of Defence announced additional Russian troops had likely been deployed to Bakhmut to fight against Kyiv's advances.
The intelligence briefing stated that Russia's leadership will "likely continue to see capturing Bakhmut as the key immediate war aim," which will "allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict."
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had made advances on the flanks around Bakhmut, where Biletsky's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has seen action.
Recent helmet-cam footage from the brigade represents the reality of the fierce fighting, showing a smoky ruin of Russian trenches littered with corpses after the unit mounted a series of surprise counterattacks.
Insider's Isobel Van Hagen reports the video depicts Ukrainian soldiers throwing grenades, firing their weapons, and advancing toward Russian positions.
In his video, Biletsky described battles earlier this week against Russia's 72nd Brigade and the so-called "Storm Z. " He called it "an analogue" of the Wagner Group units made up of released convicts, operated by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
He described hard-won victories that left "more than 50" Russians dead and the capture of "a lot of trophies: equipment, weapons, and prisoners."
The British Ministry of Defence announced additional Russian troops had likely been deployed to Bakhmut to fight against Kyiv's advances.
The intelligence briefing stated that Russia's leadership will "likely continue to see capturing Bakhmut as the key immediate war aim," which will "allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict."
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