Spectacular new satellite images have revealed the enormous losses suffered by the Russian army during Vladimir Putin’s harsh war in Ukraine.
Before and after photographs, released by the UK Ministry of Defence, show how Moscow’s arsenal has been severely depleted, with thousands of tanks disappearing over the course of two years.
Aerial views show three bases inside Russia – tank storage facilities from the city of Buy in the west to Arsenyev in the far east – in the early months of the war and this year.
Putin’s forces have lost more than 3,600 main battle tanks – more than their entire active inventory before the war – and almost 8,000 armored vehicles since the invasion began in February 2022, according to UK intelligence.
Significant losses have forced Moscow to increasingly rely on its reserves of aging Soviet tanks, many of which have reportedly been exposed to the elements.
“Losses of Russian military equipment in Ukraine continue to increase,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement alongside the images.
“This has led to a reliance on obsolete and poorly maintained Soviet-era equipment from strategic storage depots.
“Armored equipment is being taken out of storage, upgraded where possible and sent to the front.”
EARLIER: A satellite image shared by the UK Ministry of Defense shows tanks at a base in Ulan-Ude, Russia, in 2022.
AFTER: A satellite image provided by the UK Ministry of Defense shows the reduction in the number of armored vehicles at the Ulan-Ude base
EARLIER: An image provided by the Ministry of Defense shows armored vehicles at a facility in Buy, Russia, in August 2022.
AFTER: An image provided by the Ministry of Defense shows many fewer vehicles parked at the base in Buy in 2024
EARLIER: A tank storage facility in Arsenyev, Russia’s Far East, photographed in 2022
AFTER: A fraction of the vehicles are seen in a second aerial photograph of Arsenyev in 2024
Russian losses have not been limited to armored vehicles alone, and the numerous troop casualties seen throughout the war have increased further in recent months.
kyiv officials reported last month that Moscow had lost more than 2,030 soldiers in a single day, the highest daily figure since the war began.
The Defense Ministry reported last month that around 1,500 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded each day.
Moscow has suffered a total of 700,000 casualties so far in the war, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month.
Ukraine has also suffered heavy weapons losses, but Western military replenishments have allowed it to maintain inventories while improving quality, experts said.
Britain has donated Challenger 2 tanks, known for their heavy armor and striking power, to kyiv, and the heavy vehicles have played a key role in offensives in Kursk, Belgorod and elsewhere.
In an effort to recoup its losses, Russia has put its economy on a war footing and moved defense factories to uninterrupted production.
Hundreds of reconditioned tanks have been pushed off production lines, and a report said earlier this year that Moscow “has been able to trade quality for quantity.”
Meanwhile, it has been replenishing its out-of-combat troops with an army of around 10,000 soldiers sent by its ally North Korea, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
Russian T-72 tanks drive during military exercises at a firing range amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in the southern Krasnodar region, Russia, Dec. 2, 2024.
Ukrainian forces destroy Russian armored vehicle during failed assault in Ukraine
Pyongyang units have been fighting alongside the Russian army in the Kursk border region, which has been partially occupied by Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have been in a fierce battle around Kursk, and the official said Russia has been able to regain about 20 percent of the territory gained there by kyiv.
They said it will be possible for Ukraine to hold ground there for some time, but it will depend on how the rest of the fighting goes, including the long-range strikes kyiv has been launching.
Reports of an intensified Russian counteroffensive in Kursk come as Moscow’s forces advance into eastern Ukraine.
The Russian military claimed Tuesday morning to have captured another small village in the eastern Donetsk region, about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the resource-rich center of Kurakhove, which Moscow is also close to capturing.
Syrsky said the “most difficult situation” is currently around Kurakhove and the mining town of Pokrovsk, two areas that Russia intends to take over.
Footage shows Ukrainian soldiers running around a vehicle and loading missiles into the launcher, before taking cover a few meters away and firing two rockets in quick succession.
He said the “operational and strategic situation remains difficult” along the 1,170-kilometer (730-mile) front line, a day after Putin said Russian troops had taken “the strategic initiative” along the entire front. .
Ukraine’s Western allies have been pushing to send as much military aid as possible to the war-torn country before Donald Trump takes office in the United States on January 20.
The president-elect has promised to “end the war within 24 hours” and is expected to push for a quick deal to stop the fighting when he takes office in January.
This has raised fears in kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be pressured into making major concessions to Moscow after nearly three years of fighting the Kremlin’s encroachment.