Ukraine holds line as Russian equipment losses mount
The region near Pokrovsk is currently Ukraine's most challenging section of the front. Despite their rapid pace, the Russians have incurred at least five times the equipment losses compared to the Ukrainians. Here is what both sides have most commonly lost.
The Ukrainians managed to halt the Russian advance on Pokrovsk after losing Avdiivka and experiencing a Russian breach near Ocheretyne. However, this came at a cost, as one of the creators of the oryxspioenkop group, based on available photos and recordings, counted 393 vehicles lost by Ukrainians. This is nearly one-fifth of the losses suffered by the Russians (1,919 vehicles).
Here's what Ukrainians most frequently lost — US vehicles lead the list
The most frequently destroyed vehicles on both sides were infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) along with armoured personnel carriers and tanks. Ukraine lost 146 and 95 units, respectively, while the Russians lost 1,083 and 554 units.
Among the Ukrainians, the most lost tanks were various versions of the T-64 (35), T-72 (19), and M1A1SA Abrams (16). For the second-mentioned class of vehicles, the most losses were the well-known M2A2 Bradley (41 units) and BMP-1/2, with at least 34 units lost by the Ukrainians.
High losses of American equipment result from the daring actions of soldiers from the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade. Among other things, they are known for the famous duel of a Bradley with a T-90M or solo charges of heavily modified Abrams.
It is worth noting, however, that a significant number of losses are largely due to the high survivability of American equipment crews. After being hit and evacuated, crews can simply board a new vehicle and continue fighting. It is worth noting that the 47th Brigade is one of the few Ukrainian units where morale remains high.
Russian losses — a mass of post-Soviet scrap
Meanwhile, on the Russian side, the total BMP losses amount to 543 units, with the most recent BMP-3 accounting for only 116 units. Next are MT-LBs (216) and BTR-80/82 transporters (225). These vehicles are very susceptible even to fire from heavy machine guns loaded with armor-piercing ammunition, and from the front, essentially only BMPs offer more protection.
However, they are very susceptible to attack by FPV drones, against which jammers provide partial protection. Armed with armour-piercing ammunition, western IFVs can precisely shoot them before the Russians detect them. Particularly deadly are the former Swedish Strf 9040C (CV90), whose 40 mm automatic cannon can hit BMPs from even 1.5 km.
Additionally, it is worth noting that upon impact, there is often an explosion of ammunition, resulting in the death of the crew and transported soldiers. The Russians, unlike Ukrainians, do not prioritize soldier safety, resulting in low survival rates for their assault troops.
The second equipment category is tanks from the T-72 family (171), ranging from the earliest Ural versions to the new T-72B3, the most common Russian tank equipped with French thermal imaging. Interestingly, Russia lost the most machines from the T-80 family (184), mainly the BW version (164), which are the variants being restored first from post-Soviet stockpiles.
Apparently, these are less popular worldwide compared to the T-72 family and were probably least looted from post-Soviet stockpiles over the last decades, making them quicker to return to service. The T-80BW is a better-armoured machine than, for instance, the T-72B, but like other Soviet-era equipment, it lacks good night and thermal vision.
Exceptions are only tanks produced since 2017, such as the T-80BWM, which are a deep overhaul of older versions enriched with a modern fire control system with thermal imaging. Then we have 38 T-90 tanks lost by Russia, both in the T-90A version from the 1990s and the T-90M version introduced just before the invasion of Ukraine. These are currently the newest Russian tanks equipped with a fire control system with thermal imaging and two-layer Relikt reactive armour.
There were also tanks from the T-62 family (44 units) that were usually used as improvised heavy armoured personnel carriers for infantry, having the form of "armoured barns". These tanks were covered with nearby scrap metal on a steel frame about 0.5 metres from the armour, designed to prematurely detonate cumulative warheads on FPV drones.
This was quite an effective solution, especially after deploying strong drone jammers with a range of up to 0.5 km. Still, if an "armoured barn" encountered Ukrainians with modern anti-tank weapons, such as FGM-148 Javelin launchers or Akeron MP, it turned into a wreck.
With the current level of equipment losses, the Russians will not be able to conduct an offensive, and by 2025, they will run out of tanks for renovation. At that point, a key question will be whether Russia receives hundreds of units of armoured equipment from North Korea.
