Russia Is Using Soviet-Era Tanks, Weapons In Ukraine; Older Than Soldiers Who Use Them

The Russian army is now reportedly using Soviet-era weapons and equipment as the conflict in Ukraine extends into its 15th month.

At the end of May 2022, the Russian army pulled out Cold War-era T-62 tanks from storage and deployed them to Donbas Oblast and the right bank of the Dnipro River, The Insider reported. Many of the tanks, however, were destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Kyiv had also captured several T-62 tanks during its counteroffensive operations in the Kherson region in November.

Moscow has now pulled out Cold War-era T-54 and T-55 tanks from its storage and deployed them to the combat zone in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia. Both tanks were first produced in 1945, with the T-55 tanks officially being withdrawn from service in Russia in 2010.

In addition to the tanks, the Russian army has also begun using D-1 howitzer armaments first used in the 1940s and decommissioned in the 1980s. The first batch of howitzers reportedly arrived to Russian troops in August 2022, according to a Telegram post published by pro-Russian blogger Andrei Morozov. However, the first sighting of the D-1 howitzer in the combat zone did not happen until October.

It is not the first time Russia has been reported pulling old weaponry from storage to use in the war in Ukraine. In March of this year, the Russian army had reportedly started removing T-54 and T-55 tanks from a storage facility in the Primorsky territory as Kyiv received Leopard tanks from Western allies.

Reports of Russian soldiers using Soviet-era weapons appeared as early as April 2022, less than two months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, it was reported that several Russian draftees were issued bolt action Mosin rifles first produced in the 1880s to use in the war. The weapons went out of production after World War II.

Russia's decision to pull out old weapons from storage may stem from its mounting losses in the war in Ukraine. As of Wednesday, Moscow was believed to have lost a total of 3,736 tanks, 7,275 combat armored machines, 3,039 artillery systems, 2,624 UAVs and 5,974 vehicles and fuel tanks, per estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.