According to a video published on Russian social networks Telegram and VK on March 22, 2023, several old Soviet-made T-54 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) have been spotted at a railway station arriving from Russia’s Far East. Citing open-source information, Russia plans to send T-54 and T-55 tanks to the frontline to replace modern MBTs that were destroyed or damaged.
According to our information, before the war in Ukraine, the Russian Army had approximately 13,000 tanks including 2.850 operational tanks, 650 T-72B/BA, 850 T-72B3, 530 T-72B3M, 310 T-80BV/U, 140 T-80BVM, 350 T-90/T-90A an undisclosed number of T-90M as well as more than 10,200 tanks in store including T-4/T-55, T-62, T-72, T-72A/B, T-80B/BV/U, and T-90.
Citing open source information, the Russian army will have already lost more than 1,850 tanks that were destroyed, damaged, abandoned or captured. With the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian army would now have only 1/3 of modern operational tanks available. With these significant losses of battle tanks, the Russian Minister of Defense finds himself forced to put older generation tanks, such as the T-54 and T-55, back into service.