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Russia has lost five divisions’ worth of tanks and vehicles in the Pokrovsk region since October last year.
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The losses occurred during Russian offensives to capture Avdiivka and now Poprovsk.
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The Russian deployment entails enormous and potentially unsustainable costs.
Russian forces reportedly lost nearly 2,000 people armored vehicles, tanks and heavy equipment since launching its offensive in eastern Ukraine last October, an open source researcher has found.
In February, Russia seized the city of Avdiivkaan old Ukrainian stronghold, after a months-long campaign that contributed to “some of the highest Russian casualty figures of the war so far”, according to British military intelligence.
Moscow’s losses — both in terms of equipment and staff – only continued to grow as the western Donetsk region advanced, an attack on Ukraine’s defended positions contributing to September’s heavy toll; a US official recently said that month saw the most Russian casualties in the entire war.
In early October, two important Ukrainian frontline cities, Vuhledar and Hrodivka fell to Russia during its advance toward Pokrovsk, a strategic city that served as a road and rail hub to supply Ukrainian military outposts.
Despite the losses in heavy equipment, the Russian armed forces have yet to make concrete tactical gains in the region. They advance only about 40 kilometers towards the main Ukrainian city.
A new report from the Institute for War Study said losses amounted to at least five divisions worth of combat vehicles, citing a open source X account tracking visually confirmed Russian vehicle and equipment losses.
Russian forces have also lost missiles and anti-aircraft systems drones in his offensive along the eastern front. This is a collapse of heavy losses that could threaten Russia’s ability to expand its gains on the battlefield.
Combat vehicles
As of early October, Russia has lost just over 1,000 armored fighting vehicles and infantry mobility vehicles, roughly equivalent to four to five mechanized infantry divisions. military vehiclesaccording to the open-source X user.
Most of the combat vehicle losses resulted from the Russian offensive towards Pokrovsk, after Ukrainian forces destroyed 835 of the 1,020 armored vehicles. Destroyed vehicles take a human toll. For example, a BMP-1 amphibious combat vehicle is crewed by three soldiers and can carry up to eight passengers.
A Ukrainian military commander reported that Russia lost up to 90% of vehicles used in mechanized attacks in the Donetsk region last summer, according to the ISW.
But the losses of Russian equipment could be even greater, as the open-source data relies on verifying publicly shared images of destroyed or abandoned vehicles. Since February 2024, the British International Institute for Strategic Studies, a global defense think tank, has previously estimated that Russian forces lost more than 3,000 armored fighting vehicles annually.
Tanks
At least 539 Russian tanks were also lost in this attack; about 70% of them were destroyed by Ukrainian forces during the Russian attack on eastern Ukraine.
In the past month alone, Russian forces lost 25 tanks and 59 armored vehicles, equivalent to two battalions of mechanized equipment, according to the ISW.
Russia’s loss has been Ukraine’s winwhile troops repair and redeploy damaged or captured tanks to counter Russian forces.
Multiple launch rocket systems
At least 22 multiple launch rocket systems were also among Russia’s heavy equipment losses, according to the open source data.
MLRS have been crucial assets in the Russian arsenal, allowing it to conduct and launch rocket artillery barrages against Ukrainian defenses. That of Russia artillery advantage and it is brutal sliding bomb attacks have forced Ukrainian soldiers to fall back.
Earlier this week, Russia claimed it had used an MLRS to hit a Ukrainian stronghold near the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, about six miles west of Bakhmut. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack, which used 220mm ammunition, was aimed at destroying ammunition and equipment depots and isolating Ukrainian reserve forces.
Artillery
The losses of Russian heavy equipment also included 11 towed artillery and 51 self-propelled artillery systems.
Russia has a significant artillery advantage over Ukraine, producing and acquiring more shells than Ukraine and its allies can. A top American general warned in April that Russia’s lead is only expected to double as supply shortages continue to plague Ukrainian supplies.
Drones and airplanes
Russia also suffered aerial losses, including at least thirteen reconnaissance drones scouting Ukrainian lines for troop positions and targets.
In July a Russian Su-25 attack fighter jet and a Mi-8 transport helicopter were shot down near Pokrovsk by Ukrainian forces using anti-aircraft guns.
Read the original article Business insider
