Desperate Putin’s army welcomes 70-year-old Soviet-era tanks with no upgrades to the battlefield as they face Ukraine’s ultra-modern Leopards and Challenger 2s
- The photographed tank appears to be from the 1950s with no modern upgrades
- The news will give a boost to Kyiv ahead of an expected Ukraine offensive
The first of several hundred 70-year-old Soviet-era Russian tanks appears to have been deployed to Ukraine, as the Kremlin desperately replenish its depleted resources.
An image appeared on Friday which showed a T-55 Soviet tank located in Zaporizhzhia, an oblast in southern Ukraine, weeks after they were videoed on their way to the war-torn country.
The photographed tank appears to be from the 1950s and shows no modern upgrades – suggesting that Russia is shipping the decrepit machinery in an attempt to aid its war effort.
The news comes after the first of Britain’s elite Challenger 2 and Germany’s Leopard 2 battle tanks arrived in Ukraine to take on Vladimir Putin’s invaders.
The news will give a boost to Kyiv’s forces ahead of an expected Ukraine offensive which may prove to be a major turning point in the war.
The image which appeared on Friday shows a T-55 Soviet tank located in Zaporizhzhia, an oblast in southern Ukraine
Russian T-55 tanks appear to have been brought out of storage and deployed to Ukraine. They were last pictured in Arsenyev, Primorsky region
The decerped tanks lugged with obsolete technology and machinery may total around 300, estimates of old Soviet stores have suggested.
Forbes reported that the image shows the same active infrared optics that a 1950s T-55 would possess and appears to show no upgraded or reinforced armour.
READ MORE: How America’s Abrams, Germany’s Leopard 2 and Britain’s Challenger compare to Russia’s outdated T-72 tanks
Instead, the Soviet-era tanks will have to battle through war-torn Ukraine with their original thin sheet of steel armour.
Retired Australian army general Mick Ryan highlighted the mismatched tanks in his recent Substack newsletter.
‘The Ukrainians, with the infusion of Western aid, have improved the quality of their tanks and other vehicles.
‘The Russians, having lost much of their best kit in the first year of the war, are turning to much older tanks and armored vehicles drawn from Cold War stores.
He stressed that this will have a major impact on the battlefield ‘not just because of the age and technological disparity in vehicles’ but also because Russian troops will know they are unable to compete when they come up against much more modern technology.
‘Imagine you are the tank crew of an old Russian tank, that is three-four times as old as you are. And, imagine then you have been briefed that you will be coming up against the latest Western tanks.
‘Regardless of what the ludicrous Russian propaganda tells us, this will have a significant impact on Russian morale.’
The ancient T-55 originally came into production under Nikita Khrushchev in 1958. The tank originates from a generation of armoury that developed out of the Second World War prior to now standard equipment.
The principal shortcomings of these tanks, analysts cite, are a lack of analysts cite the lack of rangefinders, ballistic computers, primitive sights, and adequate gun stabilisation.
Obsolete Soviet-era T-55 tanks were pictured on a train carried across Russia, destined for the frontlines of the war in Ukraine last month
T-54/T-55 vs T-62: Reports from Russia suggest Vladimir Putin is bringing Soviet-era models of tanks out of retirement and storage to bolster his heavy armour numbers in Ukraine
Ukrainian servicemen return from heavy fighting amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 14, 2023
Ukrainian servicemen return from heavy fighting amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 15, 2023
The deployment indicates a serious problem for the Kremlin and the provision of Russian troops with armoured vehicles.
Russia, as well as Ukraine, has relied heavily on the Soviet-era T-72 tanks in Ukraine, which have been destroyed in their thousands in more than a year of fighting.
Russia has also deployed around 1,000 of its advanced T-90 tank in Ukraine, compared to around 5,000 T-72s. The £4million T-90 is supposed to be one of the best tanks in the world, and has upgraded armour and missile protection systems – compared to the T-72 – which in theory make it harder to destroy.
This comes after the first of Britain’s Challenger 2 battle tanks arrived in Ukraine last month.
The UK announced in January it would send 14 of the tanks to Ukraine as it prepares for a possible counter-offensive against Russian forces.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov wrote on Twitter that the tanks had ‘recently arrived in our country’ and posted a video that showed him sitting in one of a long line of tanks in an open field, all of them flying Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag.
‘It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT (main battle tank) for a spin,’ Reznikov wrote. ‘These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions,’ he added, tagging Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as well as Wallace.
In the video, he gave the thumbs up sign and thanked British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for the tanks, as they tore around the muddy field.
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