Russian forces are using fewer armored vehicles on the frontline in Ukraine as their losses exceed industrial capacity to replenish stocks, a U.S. military think-tank has reported.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in an assessment on Saturday that Russia is relying ever more on Soviet-era reserves and is trying to conserve them as their losses mount.
The institute cited a Ukrainian military spokesperson as saying Russia had been predominantly using infantry in its offensive operations in recent weeks and is “only using armored vehicles as fire support for infantry assaults.”
The ISW estimates that Moscow’s losses are unsustainable in the longer term and that stocks of Soviet-era armored vehicles will have been entirely expended by the end of 2026 at the current rate of losses. The destruction of Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles was particularly intense in September and October 2024, the ISW reported.
“Russian forces may be using fewer armored vehicles in the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions if the Russian military is struggling to reequip frontline Russian units and formations and if Russian military command does not want to withdraw Russian units for rest and reconstitution and risk further slowing Russian advances in high-priority frontline sectors,” the ISW wrote.
“It appears increasingly unlikely that the Russian military can sustain its current annual rate of almost 9,000 armored vehicle losses through 2025,” the assessment stated.
