Arms shortage in Russia: Russian army deploys old T-54/55 tanks to war in Ukraine

The Conflict Intelligence Team reported the information.

Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) analysts assume that the old Soviet equipment has recently left the city of Arsenyev, Primorsky Krai, Russia, where the 1295th Central Tank Reserve and Storage Base is located.

"Even an outdated tank can be more useful than no tank at all, but we believe the key disadvantages of these models are the lack of rangefinders and ballistic computers, not to mention a fire control system. In addition, they have primitive sights," said CIT.

CIT has published photos of echelons of Russian equipment moving from the Far East to western Russia. The platforms reportedly contain de-conserved T-54 tanks, the development of which began before the end of World War II. This indicates a shortage of modern weapons in Russia, experts say.

"It is difficult to name the possible applications of these tanks, but in any case, along with the de-conservation of the BTR-50, this indicates serious problems with the supply of military equipment to the Russian armed forces," analysts say.

Prior to that, the oldest tanks used by the Russian army against Ukraine were T-62s, which had been manufactured since 1961.

• On March 9, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Russia had almost used up the entire stock of artillery ammunition stored in warehouses in central Russia. 

• On March 20, 8 Leopard 2 tanks from Norway had already arrived in Ukraine. In addition to the donated equipment, Norway supplied auxiliary vehicles. Norway also provided earmarked funds for ammunition and spare parts.