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With Modern Armor Pulled Back, Russia’s Vintage T-62 Tanks Roll Into Battle—and Get Destroyed
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian forces have seen a notable rise in losses of older T-62 tanks in Ukraine, even as the overall number of destroyed armored vehicles continues to decline, according to military analyst Richard Vereker on X.
An analysis based on visually confirmed data from Warspotting.net indicates a sustained drop in total Russian tank losses, with the trend becoming particularly pronounced in June and July 2025.
1) The big story in Russian Tank losses, Is the decline in absolute numbers, (more on that in a bit) but there is also a significant change in the types lost. (Data from @WarSpotting ) with most of the decline happening in T-80s. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/RuxIrBwoPd
— Richard Vereker (@verekerrichard1) August 10, 2025
At the same time, the share of destroyed T-62s has grown significantly. Between March and July, losses of this model increased 2.5 times, suggesting their more frequent deployment to front-line positions.
Vereker notes that Russia appears to be withdrawing newer tanks, such as the T-80, into reserve units to preserve them, reflected in the sharp decline in losses of these models.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 3,545 tanks as of July 2025, according to Richard Vereker. Losses in recent months have been among the lowest recorded: 19 in June and 25 in July, compared to 70 in February, 68 in March, 60 in April, and 31 in May. Preliminary August figures show only two tanks lost so far.
T-72 tanks account for the largest share of overall losses with 1,529 destroyed, followed by T-80s with 1,113, T-62s with 274, and T-90s with 168.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia has lost approximately 11,089 tanks since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, as of August 10, 2025.
Earlier, OSINT analysis showed Russia retrieving Cold War–era T-72A and T-72 Ural tanks—many in poor condition—from long-term storage as stocks of modern armor run low, underscoring the scale of battlefield losses and the strain on its defense industry.
