Russia Tanks Finally Parade Through Ukraine Capital—But There's a Twist

ELLIE COOK

Source Link

Ukraine has put Russia's military losses on full display in Kyiv as its counteroffensive grinds on, a year and a half after Moscow expected to be parading its vehicles through the Ukrainian capital.

Burnt-out Russian main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and even the remains of intercepted Russian missiles filled Kyiv's main street in the run-up to Ukraine's Independence Day, footage from the city shows.

A similar spectacle greeted Moscow during Kyiv's 2022 Independence Day celebrations, with this year's parade marking 18 months of all-out war. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Kyiv officials had said public events would not be held in the capital to mark this year's Independence Day, with the exception of the Russian military equipment parade. A spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence agency said earlier this month that it expected a barrage of missile strikes from Russia to coincide with the national holiday.

Analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin had expected to sweep through Ukrainian territory and claim Kyiv within days of Moscow's troops passing over the border in February 2022.

In 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine, Putin suggested in leaked remarks that Russian troops would be able to seize control of Kyiv in just two weeks, should he give the order.

However, Russia did not manage to wrestle Kyiv from Ukrainian forces in the early stages of the war, and experts say Russia's tank and military vehicle fleet sustained significant damage in these first weeks. Moscow's fighters left many salvageable tanks for Ukraine to claim and lost many of its most capable crews, analysts have said.

Estimates on the scale of both Russian and Ukrainian military vehicle losses vary, but Western experts suggest Kyiv's running total is likely to be close to the true figure. On Monday, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said the Kremlin had lost 4,358 tanks since February 24, 2022. Russia had lost 12 tanks in the past 24 hours, the General Staff added.

Analysts told Newsweek in mid-June that the General Staff's figure of 4,000 tanks lost was staggering, but probably accurate. It likely includes some armored vehicles as well as main battle tanks, but still signified a substantial dent to Russia's pre-war stocks.

Other estimates, such as that published by Dutch open-source intelligence outlet Oryx, put Russia's main battle tank losses at 2,253 over the past 18 months, as of Monday. However, that includes only visually verified losses, so the true number is likely higher.

On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had lost 11,408 tanks and other armored combat vehicles in the past year and a half. Kyiv's fighters have lost 5,951 field artillery pieces and mortars, Moscow added in a statement.

As of Monday, Russia's forces have lost 5,264 artillery systems, Kyiv said. Newsweek cannot independently verify battlefield losses.