4 ms·

Russian manufacturers rely on foreign imports to make both tanks and cars https://www.reuters.com/business/us-official-says-export-curbs-russia-hit-car-product

Russian manufacturers rely on foreign imports to make both tanks and cars https://www.reuters.com/business/us-official-says-export-curbs-russia-hit-car-production-tank-building-2022-03-30/ https://www.reuters.com/business/us-official-says-export-cur... Which seems to be supported by russian car sales falling off a cliff, though not anything 1:1 as those cars would have included imported cars too https://www.intellinews.com/russia-s-car-sales-drop-84-in-post-invasion-may-2022-246606/ https://www.intellinews.com/russia-s-car-sales-drop-84-in-po... Things like artillery shells are probably fine for them to continue to produce in large quantities unfortunately. It's hard to estimate how many working vehicles russia has because a lot of them are poorly maintained, or missing parts or whatever. A lot of early analysis suggested many russian tanks were either lacking a gunner or the main gun just didn't work. Wikipedia suggests russia should have comissioned 700 BMP-3 units for itself. Open source intel has confirmed losses of 109 of them. I would tend to tack on about 30%. How many of the remaining 560 are out there? A good question. A more useful answer might be what do we actually see russia using in the field to get a better clue.

ncmncm 4y ago
Ukraine could probably do better destroying fuel trucks than tanks. It is easier and cheaper, and a tank with no fuel becomes war materiel for Ukraine. Ukraine probably understands this, but shots of tanks blowing up is good for morale.
- Andaith 4y ago
  I remember seeing that happen A LOT, during the inital push for Kyiv. The Ukrainians would only destroy the first few vehicles in a convoy to block the road at strategic points, then target fuel trucks. The Russians had to keep everything running to keep warm because of the time of year, but weren't advancing, and eventually abandoned a lot of vehicles and equipment. I'm pretty sure Ukraine still has more tanks than they started the war with as a result of these tactics.

ncmncm 4y ago

Ukraine could probably do better destroying fuel trucks than tanks. It is easier and cheaper, and a tank with no fuel becomes war materiel for Ukraine. Ukraine probably understands this, but shots of tanks blowing up is good for morale.

Andaith 4y ago
I remember seeing that happen A LOT, during the inital push for Kyiv. The Ukrainians would only destroy the first few vehicles in a convoy to block the road at strategic points, then target fuel trucks. The Russians had to keep everything running to keep warm because of the time of year, but weren't advancing, and eventually abandoned a lot of vehicles and equipment. I'm pretty sure Ukraine still has more tanks than they started the war with as a result of these tactics.