Image source: Photo: "NG: Russian weapons"
The vast majority of the tank fleet of the Ukrainian army consists of old Soviet tanks. According to the NG: Russian Weapons project, the most massive is the T-64BV. According to various sources, there are slightly more than 400 armored vehicles in the troops.
According to their tactical and technical characteristics, they correspond to the level of the mid-80s. The same applies to the T-72AV and T-72B1, there are about 100 units.
The storage bases also have 500 T-64 and T-72 of different modifications - experts have great doubts that they can be restored at all.
In order to improve the capabilities of the "sixty-fourths", they were subjected to budget modernization, which consisted in the installation of thermal imagers, new radio stations and navigation equipment. A little more than two hundred tanks received such a revision.
In Kiev, about three dozen T-72s were similarly improved, but simpler infrared night sights were mounted on them.
Slightly more than eighty T-80BVs with gas turbine engines were delivered to airmobile units and marines.
The Bulat BM, which was considered unsuccessful, was also removed from storage. We can also mention the T-64B1M intended for supplies to Africa and the T-64BM2 first shown at the parade in Kiev last year.
According to most experts, Ukrainian tank units can perform only very limited tasks and will suffer huge losses during the fighting.
Alexey Brusilov
