At the end of May, the British Ministry of Defense reported the appearance of Russian T-62s in Ukraine. The dispatch of the outdated tanks shows Moscow’s problems in procuring new war equipment, according to London sources. However, two military experts have different explanations for this.
So far, Russia has mainly used T-72 and T-80 main battle tanks against Ukraine. Reports from the past week suggest that obsolete T-62s are now also being deployed to the war zone. Photos verified by ntv show a freight train with T-62 in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol. The Ukrainian military also published a corresponding video.
The British Ministry of Defense reported on May 27 that Moscow had taken the approximately 50-year-old tanks from stocks and brought them to the Southern Forces’ area of ??operations. The decision shows that Russia appears to be having problems procuring new equipment and war equipment. “The T-62 tanks will almost certainly be particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons, and their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia’s lack of modern, operational equipment,” a London source said.
US military analyst and Russia expert Michael Kofman did not share this assessment. According to him, T-62s are used by reserve formations. The sending of the tanks to the front would indicate the call-up of reservists – probably to compensate for losses. “It doesn’t mean that Russia doesn’t have other types of tanks anymore,” Kofman tweeted.
Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner offers another explanation. “You have to understand that in the situation the Russians are in, a modern battle tank is not necessary at all,” explains the head of the development department at the Theresa Military Academy on YouTube. Because mainly the tanks would be used to support the attacking infantry. “So we don’t have big tank battles where tanks meet on the Ukrainian side and on the Russian side, where a modern vehicle would be necessary,” said Reisner. The T-62 is armored, mobile and has a high firepower, which means it meets the requirements.
The T-62 was built in the Soviet Union from 1962 to 1975 and later exported to several countries. A total of 20,000 copies rolled off the assembly line. The main battle tank was used in numerous conflict regions, including Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya. The main advantage of the T-62 compared to more modern tanks is its ease of use and reduced maintenance requirements. This also makes him interesting for the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, whose units often only have superficial training.
In the Russian army, the T-62 ekes out only a niche existence. It is estimated that between 850 and 2000 copies are still in use. The backbone of Moscow’s armored forces now consists of modernized variants of the T-72, complemented by smaller numbers of T-80s and T-90s. Still, Kofman noted, “As for the T-62, it’s old, but even old tanks can still kill.”