The T-72 has proved to be a resilient and easy-to-maintain tank; however, it has fallen victim to portable anti-tank weapons and drones.

The T-72 main battle tank (MBT) entered service with the Soviet Army in 1973, with a total of more than 25,000 produced. Although it was widely exported and adopted by dozens of countries around the world, Russia remains the largest operator of the T-72. It has continued to serve as the workhorse for the Russian Army in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; however, the Kremlin has increasingly had to rely on older and less capable models.

According to reports from open-source intelligence (OSINT) researcher Jompy, the Russian military has begun to pull Soviet-era T-72A MBTs from storage to replenish its armored forces, as losses of more modern MBTs continue. These are not the oldest Cold War tanks that the Kremlin has returned to service, as Moscow has pulled T-62 and even older T-54/55 series tanks from its storage yards.

According to the social media posts from Jompy, many of the T-72A and T-72 Ural models were in “poor” or even “very poor” condition. Russia had primarily stored its out-of-service tanks at military bases, leaving them exposed to the elements. Beyond the harsh winters and blistering summers, the tanks are not maintained much better than the old, retired American tanks that sit in front of National Guard armories or VFW halls. It could be argued that the old Patton tanks get more TLC than the T-72s that have languished at Russia’s military bases for decades.

Russia Is Trying to Get More T-72s Into the Fight

Compared to the T-54/54 and T-62 tanks, the T-72 is a far more capable fighting machine. Even those old tanks that have sat for years unserviced might have “good bones,” meaning that the hull and chassis could be the starting point for a refurbished tank.

As many “new” (or instead refurbished) T-72s are rolling into action as the newer T-90s. It is not that Moscow has restarted production of the T-72. Instead, it is repairing and refitting as many as possible—and more importantly, it is doing so as quickly as possible. But it is slowly losing a race against Ukraine, which continues to destroy Russia’s tanks faster than they can be replaced.

“Ukraine doesn’t have to destroy everything to leave Russians without T-72s—they only need to make sure that the rate of destruction is higher than the rate of T-72 deliveries. And so far it seems to be the case,” explained Technology.org in a new report on the state of Russia’s tanks.

Russia Is Relying Heavily on the T-72

In many ways, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine presents a snapshot of what a Soviet-NATO war could have resembled. Apart from the drones and a few more modern systems, it is being fought by Soviet-era equipment like the T-72, which has performed as well as—and maybe even better than—its Western-made contemporaries.

As Brandon J. Weichert wrote last year for The National Interest, “[The T-72’s] resilience in the muddy, bloody killing fields of Ukraine is unmatched.” He further gives credit where it is due, in that the T-72 is “cheaper to replace and easier to maintain.” Those are facts that cannot be overstated.

The most crucial part is that Russia had the T-72s in large numbers, with thousands in storage. The T-72, like any modern MBT, has fallen victim to man-portable anti-tank rocket-launchers and drones, yet it remains in the fight.

Of course, this is only “good news” in the short term. By draining its reserves and refurbishing older models, Russia will not have such stockpiles for another war in the future. It will be left with tanks that are not cheaper to replace or easier to maintain. It will take years, possibly decades, to replenish its tank forces.