Russia sends outdated T-62 tanks and BTR-50 armored personnel carriers to the front
T-62 tank (Photo:warfor.me)
After suffering huge equipment losses, Russia is redeploying to Ukraine mothballed tanks and infantry vehicles that are not suited for the modern battlefield, UK Military Intelligence reported on Twitter on March 6.
The Russian military is deploying 60-year-old T-62 battle tanks, the message reads.
It is very likely that even the elite First Guard Tank Army (1 GTA) will be re-equipped with T-62s to replace lost tanks.
The intelligence also recently discovered in Ukraine Russian BTR-50 armored personnel carriers, a model first produced in 1954 – 71 years ago.
About 800 T-62 battle tanks have been taken out of mothballs since the summer of 2022. Some of them were equipped with modernised targeting systems meant to make them more effective at night time, the defence intelligence added.
"However, both of these vintage vehicle types will present many vulnerabilities on the modern battlefield, including the absence of modern explosive reactive armour," the message reads.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies has reported previously that around half of Russia’s pre-war tank fleet, which numbered about 2,000 modern T-72B3s and T-72B3Ms, has been destroyed in Ukraine.
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