Vladimir Putin’s military is unlikely to use its prized T-14 Armata tank in combat in Ukraine because it is “too valuable,” an ally of the Russian president said.
The comments were made by Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Rostec, the country’s state-owned defense conglomerate, in an interview with Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, published Sunday.
Moscow is reported to have briefly deployed several of the main battle tanks for combat operations in July 2023, before they were withdrawn from the front line. The tank was once labeled by a senior British army official as “the most revolutionary tank in a decade.”
“The Armata, in general, is a little expensive,” Chemezov said. “In terms of functionality, it is, of course, much superior to existing tanks, but it is too valuable, so the army is unlikely to use it now. It’s easier for them to buy the same T-90s.”
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images
Chemezov also said Russia’s military needs more funds to produce new tanks and weapons.
“Now we need money to create new tanks, new weapons, perhaps cheaper ones. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to buy cheaper ones, why not,” he said.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.
In 2016, British newspaper The Telegraph obtained a briefing paper on the T-14 Armata written by an unnamed senior army intelligence officer.
“Without hyperbole, Armata represents the most revolutionary step change in tank design in the last half century,” the official wrote.
Equipment losses have been high for Kyiv and Moscow in recent weeks, as both sides fought for the embattled fortress town of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the region in February.
Kyiv’s military said in an update on Monday that Moscow has so far lost 6,648 tanks since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The figures were provided by the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, which posts estimates of Russia’s troop and equipment losses daily.
Russia has also lost a total of 417,960 troops, 10,210 artillery systems, 12,660 armored personnel vehicles, as well as 347 military jets in the ongoing war, Kyiv said. Newsweek couldn’t independently verify Ukraine’s figures and contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Estimates of casualty numbers vary, with Ukraine’s figures usually exceeding those provided by its Western allies. Moscow rarely shares information on its number of casualties. Similarly, Kyiv does not provide updated information on its war casualties.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.