Bloomberg: Ukraine possibly fields more tanks than Russia
Ukraine may have overtaken Russia in the number of tanks while narrowing gaps in howitzers and multiple-launch rocket systems, Bloomberg wrote on July 6.
The shift in the balance of hardware stems from Russia's losses and the military supplies from Kyiv's partners, Bloomberg reported, citing data from the open-source investigation group Oryx, the British International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Germany-based Kiel Institute.
While the outlet emphasizes that the figures are estimates based on the available data, Russia's tank fleet likely halved, while Ukraine received 471 new tanks from the allies, with a further 286 on their way.
Bloomberg however noted that Ukrainian losses are much less recorded and there are no reliable figures on Russian tanks that are newly produced or pulled up from storage.
The figures presented by the outlet indicate that while Russia fielded 3,400 tanks before the war, the number went down to 1,400. In turn, Ukraine went from 987 before the war to 1,500.
Russia and Ukraine also currently field 1,900 and 1,100 152/155mm howitzers, and 841 and 427 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) respectively, based on Bloomberg's numbers.
This would indicate that the Russian military lost around 2,000 tanks, 400 howitzers, and 260 MLRS launchers since it launched its invasion.
These estimates are relatively conservative compared to the figures of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the military's latest report, Russia lost 4,068 tanks, 4,310 artillery systems, and 657 MLRSs since the beginning of the full-scale war.
On July 4, British Defense Chief Admiral Tony Radakin said that Russia lost almost half its combat capability in Ukraine and its industry struggles to catch up with the losses.
"Last year it fired 10 million artillery shells but at best can produce 1 million shells a year. It has lost 2,500 tanks and at best can produce 200 tanks a year," he said at the British Parliament.
Mark Dietzen
