According to current estimates by the British Ministry of Defence, the Russian army has lost more than 300,000 soldiers through death or injury by November 16. This was reported by the German news website merkur.de.
In the contested areas in the south and east of the affected country, a significant amount of material is apparently left behind on the battlefields. A photo from the front area in the Luhansk region seems to show that Russian soldiers are being equipped with increasingly older tanks, which also pose a danger to the crew itself. An image that emerged on the internet, as reported by the American business magazine Forbes, shows a Russian tank driver on an outdated T-72B. This model of Russian tank was commissioned in 1985. The magazine describes the depicted T-72B as a ‘technical regression,’ since the previously deployed 488th Motor Rifle Regiment had improved T-72BA models. This version of the tank had a more powerful engine and a more stable 125-millimeter smoothbore cannon. According to the report, Moscow once possessed 700 of the T-72BA tanks.
The older T-72B tanks pose at least a significant danger to their own crew. In all T-72 models, the protection of soldiers was neglected in the design. The combat space is very cramped, making it extremely difficult to escape from a potentially burning tank if hit.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin at the site Donguzskij (2015-09-19) 10.jpg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Image size changed)
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