Vlad’s Nightmare: Tell-Tale Satellite Data Suggests Russian Forces Are Running Out of Tanks

Artificial intelligence analysis of satellite data has shown that the number of tanks on the Russian side has been rapidly dwindling since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

A June 28 estimate by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry noted that Russia has lost over 8,000 tanks in the war so far, Knewz.com has learned.

Analysis of satellite data shows that the number of tanks on the Russian side has been rapidly dwindling since the beginning of the Ukraine war. By: MEGA

Vladimir Putin's "Special Operation" has seen significant losses on the Russian side, including the decimation of Russian tanks at the hands of Ukrainian kamikaze drones.

The latest estimate of Russian losses, posted by the Defense Ministry of Ukraine on X, states that Russia has lost 8,066 tanks in the Ukraine war.

The German news outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung used an artificial intelligence model to analyze satellite images of 87 Russian military sites, including 16 military bases that mainly store tanks, artillery vehicles, and armored personnel carriers.

The outlet used the artificial intelligence model to count the number of tanks present at these sites before the commencement of the Ukraine war and compared it to the number of tanks present now.

"For example in one of the largest Russian tank reserve warehouses, the 111th Central Armored Reserve base of the army in southeastern Russia, hundreds of armored vehicles have disappeared since the beginning of the war," Süddeutsche Zeitung noted.

Russia has lost a significant number of tanks at the hands of Ukrainian kamikaze drones. By: MEGA

The outlet reported that the 60-hectare base contained 857 tanks in April 2021, whereas satellite images from October 2022, eight months after the start of the war, only showed 431 tanks.

"And today, 2024... the Base [is] almost empty," the outlet wrote.

Analysis of satellite images from the 1295th Central military base in Arsenyev, mostly used for tank repairs and vehicle storage, presented a similar picture.

The rapid loss of tanks has pushed Russia to use refurbished heavy war machinery in battle, like "Franken Tanks," also known as "Turtle Tanks," which made their first appearance in the war in 2023.

At the time, Knewz.com reported that the implementation of these vehicles was a testament to the depletion of resources suffered by the invading country.

The article further noted at that early stage of the war, these “Frankenstein tanks composed of a 25mm 2M-3 twin-barrelled naval anti-aircraft turrets mounted on Soviet-era amphibious fighting vehicle[s].”

Vladimir Putin's

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) noted the same in an analysis they published in February 2024, saying, "Of the tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, for example, approximately 80% are not new production but are instead refurbished and modernised from Russian war stocks."

"The number of systems held in storage means that while Russia can maintain a consistent output through 2024, it will begin to find that vehicles require deeper refurbishment through 2025, and by 2026 it will have exhausted most of the available stocks."

"As the number of refurbished vehicles goes down, industrial capacity can go into making new platforms, but this will necessarily mean a significant decrease in vehicles delivered to the military," the analysis read.

Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote in their report, "The evaluation of the satellite images shows: This tank recycling as a method of upgrading will become impossible in the foreseeable future."

Gustav Gressel, a Russia and military expert at the international think tank European Council on Foreign Relations, told the outlet that he believes the rapid depletion of tank reserves will become a problem for Russia "in about two years."

The rapid depletion of tank reserves will become a problem for Russia

Michael Gjerstad from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) commented, via Süddeutsche Zeitung, "I guess Russia still has around 3200 tanks in stock, but the vast majority of them are in poor condition and require substantial repair."

Citing information from the Dutch open-source intelligence defense analysis website Oryx, Newsweek reported that "2,144 Russian tanks have been destroyed, 159 damaged, 352 abandoned, and 518 captured" since the Russian invasion commenced.

Earlier in June, Putin's forces reportedly saw the "deadliest week" of the war, with the Defense Ministry writing on X at the time that Russia lost 15 tanks, 18 armored combat vehicles, 65 artillery units, 69 vehicles and fuel tanks, 12 units of "special equipment," and 27 drones.

In another statement, Ukraine claimed to have achieved the record for the highest number of Russian artillery systems destroyed in May 2024.

"1160 Russian artillery systems were destroyed in May. It's the biggest number of artillery losses in two years of the war. And Ukrainian warriors continue to transform Russian weapons into scrap metal," the statement read.