The significant losses of Russia's most modern tank in the invasion of Ukraine

Tanks are of great importance in the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began three years ago today.

Russian forces have already lost more than 10,000 armored vehicles in Ukraine
The total destruction of the most modern tank that Russia is using in Ukraine

It seemed that these armoured vehicles had their days numbered in a world dominated by aviation, but in the end the tank, as a tool of conquest and defence, has proven to continue to be a very valuable asset for any army.

Despite the propaganda, Russia does not have a tank fleet as advanced as the United States. As demonstrated in this war, much of its armored fleet consists of T-72 (a 1973 model) and T-80 (1976) tanks, in various variants.

Theoretically, the Russian tank equivalent to the American M1 Abrams should be the T-90, a 1992 model. However, it should be remembered that a considerable part of the first T-90s were made from T-72 hulls, the model on which it is based and with which it shares the same type of automatic loader on its main gun.

The Russian military’s loss figures in Ukraine are very telling. According to Oryxspioenkop.com, which has been graphically documenting these losses since the start of the invasion, Russia has lost 181 T-90s of various variants. This is a much smaller number than the losses of T-72s and T-80s, but that is because the T-90 is a much less numerous tank in the Russian fleet of armoured vehicles.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) report "The Military Balance 2022", in 2022 Russia had 417 T-90s, specifically 350 T-90As and 67 T-90M Proryv, the most modern version of this armored vehicle. Thus, Russia has lost 43.4% of its T-90s in this invasion. These are huge losses for the most modern of the Russian tanks in service (remember that the announced T-14 Armata has not even appeared at the front, due to the problems encountered in its development).

Figures from Oryxspioenkop.com indicate that the most battered variant of the T-90 is the T-90M: 127 units lost to date. These figures exceed the number of tanks of that type listed in the aforementioned IISS report. In "The Military Balance 2024", the IISS estimates that Russia currently has 220 T-90s (100 T-90As and 120 T-90Ms). It should be noted that the T-90As are currently being upgraded to the T-90M version, so losses of the initial model are less numerous. The IISS data is fairly consistent with the losses documented by Oryxspioenkop.com, and indicates that the T-90M, Russia's most modern tank, is faring disappointingly.

On the other hand, it must be said that according to Oryxspioenkop.com, Ukraine has already managed to capture seven T-90Ms, even during its offensive in Kursk, Russia. A humiliating fact for Moscow that adds to the need it has had to resort to old tanks such as the T-54, T-55 and T-62 in the absence of more modern tanks to replace losses, due to the problems that the Russian military industry is encountering in manufacturing the most advanced vehicles, because Western sanctions have largely closed Russia's access to the technological resources necessary for their manufacture.

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Main photo: Russian Ministry of Defense. T-90M Proryv tanks delivered to the Taman Motorized Rifle Division in April 2020.