Ukraine ran out of American tanks, Russia had to use T-62 tanks
Ukraine has run out of American tanks, but Russia has also had to restore a batch of T-62 tanks to meet battlefield requirements.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•16/07/2025
Russia's Sputnik news agency reported on June 13 that 26 out of 31 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks supplied by the US to Ukraine have been destroyed, and the Ukrainian Army (AFU) now has only 5 of these tanks left. The first M1A1 Abrams was destroyed, on the western side of the Avdiivka front (Donetsk Oblast), on February 26, 2024. It is difficult to verify the accuracy of the Sputnik information. But it is certain that AFU lost a lot of Abrams tanks on the battlefield, as well as a lot of Leopard 2 tanks and Challenger tanks. The tanks were expected to change the situation on the battlefield for Kiev, but they brought only disappointment.
However, a batch of 41 decommissioned Australian Abrams tanks that Canberra provided to Ukraine has been found in Poland and may have been transferred to Ukraine. The Ukrainian army continues to receive aid in the Abrams series. Sergey Chemezov, president of Russia's state-owned Rostec, said in an interview with Scout magazine that after studying the captured Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks, Russian engineers found that the overall design of Western tanks was very high, especially the fire control system and engine. But they did not find any breakthrough design solutions and did not find anything to learn from them. Personally, I think that what Mr. Chemezov and Russian technical experts say is quite objective; therefore, it is better for Moscow to continue upgrading the T-90M series. First, to meet the requirements of the battlefield, next is a tank that has been tested in real combat and has clearly seen its advantages and disadvantages. In fact, all tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield (whether of Western or Soviet/Russian origin) are currently facing the same dilemma. Otherwise, why is the so-called next-generation tank, the T-14 Armata, not appearing on the battlefield, but being stopped?
When Russia first unveiled its new generation T-14 Armata tank in Red Square, it caused quite a stir in the Western military, especially the unmanned turret design. While this wasn't new, it was shocking enough. The West has not kept up with the trend of developing new generation tanks. The reason is simple, the standards of the new generation of tanks are still unclear, and current technology cannot ensure that tanks can safely deal with most threats on the battlefield. At that time, no one could have imagined that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying anti-tank warheads (FPVs) could pose such a great threat to tanks. And the weaknesses of tanks in the upper hemisphere of the vehicle, although known, could not be overcome. Since these new tanks are also ineffective against FPV UAVs and also need to be equipped with various types of mesh armor and UAV jammers, on the Ukrainian battlefield, there is practically no difference between the latest tanks and the old, outdated tanks. Therefore, “tank vs. tank” battles between the Russian and Ukrainian armies are rare, let alone large-scale tank battles.
In this situation, the Russian defense industry made the right choice of refurbishing and upgrading old tanks that had been retired from service since the Soviet era, to quickly meet the requirements of the battlefield. The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service reported that on June 27, the 103rd Repair Plant in the Trans-Baikal region successfully repaired 21 old T-62 tanks. Military trains carrying these T-62 tanks headed to the Ukrainian battlefield. Due to the insufficient number of new T-90M and T-72B3M tanks, using old tanks became a reasonable solution at the moment. However, due to long-term storage outdoors and exposure to weather, these tanks are in very poor technical condition. Some vehicles are difficult to move even after being repaired, and can only be used as direct-aim guns like the T-55 tank; they cannot be used as assault vehicles to provide direct fire support for infantry.
Most importantly, after more than three years of heavy consumption, Russia now has very few old tanks and armored vehicles left in its inventory from the Soviet era, as can be seen from satellite images of Russian tank yards that have almost run out. Meanwhile, Ukraine has also almost run out of usable tanks. (Photo source: Military Review, Sputnik, Ukrinform).
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•16/07/2025
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