Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, became the first Russian politician to disclose arms production figures since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking in an interview in 2023, Medvedev stated, “This year alone, we will produce 1,500 tanks.” However, the number he cited includes upgraded and reactivated vehicles removed from storage.
While Medvedev painted an optimistic picture of Russia’s defense industry, reports from the frontlines tell a different story. A visible shortage of operational armored vehicles has forced Russian forces to improvise. Soldiers have resorted to repurposing motorcycles, modifying civilian trucks, and even using standard civilian cars in assault operations.
One widely circulated video shows four Russian soldiers attempting to storm Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk in a civilian VAZ-2106 sedan. The attack ended in failure, with the occupants killed. Another video documents Russian troops using three modified Niva vehicles turned into makeshift military pickups. These improvised tactics have become easy targets for Ukrainian drones.
Russian media have also shared footage of troops converting civilian vehicles into “tactical assault cars” for frontline use, underscoring the severe equipment shortages caused by sustained losses.
According to Oryx, a monitoring group that tracks equipment losses using open-source intelligence, Russia has lost 3,677 tanks, 5,293 fighting vehicles, and 2,436 other armored vehicles since the invasion of Ukraine began. These staggering figures explain why Moscow has turned to outdated equipment and unorthodox solutions to fill the gaps.
The use of civilian vehicles on the battlefield highlights the growing challenges faced by Russian forces as their armored vehicle losses continue to mount. Despite Medvedev’s claim of ramped-up tank production, the reliance on improvised solutions reveals the strain on Russia’s military-industrial complex.
As the conflict drags on, these tactics emphasize the enduring difficulties Russia faces in maintaining its military operations amidst heavy losses and dwindling resources.