Russia has lost about half of its main battle tanks
According to a senior representative of the US Department of Defense, Russia’s armed forces have already lost half of their main battle tanks in the Ukraine war. Moscow’s ground forces in Europe have been “significantly weakened” and there are already “tens of thousands of victims” on the Russian side, said Celeste Wallander, who is responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the Pentagon. Russia has “probably lost half of its MBT inventory” – either as a result of hostilities or because Ukraine captured the tanks, she said.
According to estimates, around 80 percent of Russia’s ground forces are now involved in the aggressive war against Ukraine, she said. However, Wallander, whose rank in the Pentagon is roughly equivalent to that of Secretary of State, warned against underestimating Russia. Moscow is learning from the setbacks so far and is adapting its tactics in the war, Wallander said on Friday at the event of a think tank in Washington, the Center for New American Security (CNAS). This was shown by the current fighting in eastern Ukraine.
In addition, Russia continues to have an important arms industry. Western sanctions have made their production more difficult and slowed down, Wallander said. Moscow is therefore also relying on cooperation, such as the purchase of drones in Iran, to attack targets in Ukraine. In addition, Russia still has a fairly significant air force. “As Russia continues to suffer losses in Ukraine, it is also learning to adapt,” she said.