On Thursday, August 13, at the initiative of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed destroyed enemy equipment to be transferred free of charge to foreign museums. This concerns five Russian T-72 tanks in various modifications, which will be transferred to museums in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, and the Netherlands. UNN explains what is known about this tank and how many such vehicles the russian federation has lost in the war against Ukraine.
Thus, pursuant to government order No. 773-р:
- The Netherlands will receive a T-72B tank;
- Estonia will receive a 2011-model T-72B3 tank;
- Latvia will receive a T-72B tank;
- Lithuania will receive a T-72BA tank;
- Denmark will receive a T-72B3 tank.
As stated by the Ministry of Defense, the enemy equipment has lost its combat capabilities, contains no explosive elements, and may be displayed to visitors abroad. The ministry also emphasized that transferring destroyed examples of captured equipment to foreign museums would contribute to the international documentation of the consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine will provide foreign museums with samples of destroyed Russian equipment14.08.26, 13:44
How many tanks Russia has lost in the war against Ukraine
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as of August 13, Russia had lost 12,264 [units] in the war against Ukraine. According to Osint analysts, Russia had lost 4,437 tanks, of which 3,343 were destroyed, 165 were damaged, and 538 were captured.
Based on Osint data, it has been established that Russia lost 1,851 tanks of various modifications.
What is known about the T-72 tank
The T-72 "Ural" is a second-generation main battle tank developed in the USSR. It was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1973. The T-72 tank family was developed by the Ural Tank Plant (the F. Dzerzhinsky "Uralvagonzavod," code name "Plant No. 183").
T-72 tank
The T-72 is in service with CIS countries and was exported to socialist-bloc countries and the Middle East. T-72 modifications were produced under license in Yugoslavia (M-84), Poland (PT-91), Czechoslovakia, and India, which in turn also exported them.
Destroyed Russian T-72 "Ural"
The designers continued improving the T-64, which had a number of shortcomings, the main ones being its high production cost and lengthy manufacturing process. Therefore, a decision was made to prepare an additional version of a prospective tank whose production would be cheaper and whose manufacturing process would be faster.
There was also a proposal to install the four-stroke V-shaped V-45 diesel engine, whose production had been well mastered by industry; at that time, the engine was also significantly simpler and cheaper to manufacture.
The new tank was supposed to be another branch of the T-64 tank family. Thus, in the early 1970s, the Ural Tank Plant, jointly with the Kharkiv Tank Plant, began work on improving the design of the T-64 tank to install the V-45 engine.
However, the new vehicle differed from its predecessor in many respects; the differences were so significant that even the main components of these tanks could not be interchanged. Thus, after the relevant modifications and tests, on August 7, 1973, the "Object 172M" tank was adopted for service, and its production began at Uralvagonzavod under the designation "T-72 Main Battle Tank" (code name "Ural").
The vehicle retained from the T-64 the modified compact onboard gearboxes and the armament system. The T-72 tracks were standardized with those of the T-55 and T-62 tanks. In 1973, the first batch of 30 vehicles was produced. Serial production of the tank began in 1974.
Over more than 30 years, more than 20 modifications of the tank were developed. Thus, modernization of the T-72 began as early as the second half of the 1970s, and the tank received the designation T-72A.
T-72A
The vehicle was equipped with a TPDK-1 laser sight-rangefinder, a TPN-3-49 gunner's night sight with an L-4 illuminator, solid side anti-cumulative screens, a 2A46 gun (instead of the 2A26M2 gun), a 902B smoke-grenade launching system, a protection system against napalm, a road-signaling system, a TVNE-4B night-vision device for the driver-mechanic, increased dynamic roller travel, and a V-46-6 engine.
Russian serviceman surrendered to the AFU along with a T-72A tank
Czech Republic halts modernization of T-72 tanks planned for transfer to Ukraine03.12.25, 07:14
At the beginning of the 1980s, the Soviet Army began modernizing tanks of all types by installing explosive reactive armor systems on them. In 1985, Kontakt explosive reactive armor elements were installed on the T-72A tank, which was then accepted into service under the designation T-72AV.
T-72AV tank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
At the same time, work was underway to install a guided-missile weapons system on T-72 tanks. Thus, the Object 184 vehicle was equipped with the 9K120 Svir guided weapons system.
T-72B
The installation of the guided weapons system required replacing the gun with the 2A46M gun-launcher. A new V-84 engine and the 1A40 fire-control system were also installed. The armor of the tank's frontal section was significantly reinforced, and a new turret with a new type of filler was used. The tank was accepted into service under the designation T-72B.
A destroyed T-72B at the beginning of the war
In 1989, the T-72B underwent an extensive modernization and received the designation T-72B model 1989 (the unofficial designation T-72BM).
A captured T-72B model 1989, seized by Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv region in 2022
The tank received built-in Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor, similar to that installed on the T-80U tank, as well as a modified composition of the upper glacis plate.
A Russian T-72B model 1989 "got tired" in the fields of Ukraine
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, production of the tank continued in Russia at Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, where its modernization also continued. Probably one of the tank's most extensive modifications was carried out in 2011, when it was released under the designation T-72B3.
T-72B3 of the Russian Armed Forces
The tank is equipped with the Kontakt-5 protection system, a V-84-1 engine rated at 840 hp, and the Sosna-U gunner's multichannel sight, which includes visual, thermal-imaging, and rangefinder channels, as well as a missile-guidance channel, a wind sensor, the R-168-25U-2 Akveduk radio station, and a protection system against weapons of mass destruction.
The gun's autoloader was modified for new ammunition, and the running gear was improved with track links featuring a parallel hinge. There are no GLONASS receivers for the crew to determine the tank's location.
A T-72B3 of the Russian Armed Forces captured by Ukrainian troops
However, Ukrainian engineers were not idle either and continuously improved the tank, of which, according to open-source data, Ukraine had approximately 230 units as of the end of 2017, with another 140 in storage.
Thus, in 2018, trials were conducted of the T-72AMT, a Ukrainian deep modernization of the T-72 by the Kyiv Armored Plant. The vehicle received a package of upgrades dictated by combat experience in Donbas. The modernized tank received the new Nozh explosive reactive armor, already used on the Bulat and Oplot tanks; anti shaped-charge screens; the Kombat missile, capable of penetrating up to 750 mm of armor; a night-vision device with third-generation image intensifiers and a 1K13 night sight; as well as a kit consisting of an Aselsan digital radio station and an SN-3003 Bazalt satellite navigation system, along with a new engine.
T-72AMT at an exhibition in Kyiv
One of the latest modifications was carried out during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The tank received the designation T-72B3 model 2022. The main battle tank received reinforced protection for the front fender sections, analogous to that of the T-90M.
An echelon of T-72B3 model 2022 tanks
Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor modules were installed on the gun mantlet. Explosive reactive armor was also added to the turret. The Sosna-U multichannel system with a thermal imager received a mechanism for opening armored shutters, replacing manual opening by unscrewing four bolts. New sensors also appeared on the tank. During 2022–2023, some tanks received the simpler 1PN96MT-02 thermal sight instead of the Sosna-U; the same also occurred with the T-80BVM.
Starting in 2023, anti shaped-charge nets were also added to the turret, along with explosive reactive armor on the rear and a standard "barbecue" anti-drone cope cage. Starting in 2024, rubber-fabric screens have also been installed on the turret roof.
For the first time, a Russian T-72B3 of the 2022 model was destroyed in March 2023 in the area of Marinka in Donetsk region.
Destroyed T-72B3 with an installed "shed"