Video: Ukrainian Government Adviser Claims Russia Has Taken Out Soviet-Era Tanks From Storage Amid War

Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, a video showing multiple Soviet-era tanks lined up on railway tracks in Russia has surfaced online. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, shared the clip on Twitter and claimed that Russia has taken out more of its 50-year-old T-62 tanks from storage in order to deploy them in the Ukraine war. 

"Old Soviet tanks taken out of conservation by Russia - with no protection against modern weapons," Mr Gerashchenko wrote in the caption. 

"And new Russian conscripts (also with no protection against modern weapons and a modern army - we've seen what they fight in). Perfect combination, doomed for success, I would say," he added. 

Old Soviet tanks taken out of conservation by Russia - with no protection against modern weapons.

And new Russian conscripts (also with no protection against modern weapons and a modern army - we've seen what they fight in).

Perfect combination, doomed for success, I would say. pic.twitter.com/Lh3tNLA0AE

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 23, 2022

The Ukraine war has reached its seventh month. According to the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia has lost around 2,254 tanks since the invasion began on February 24 earlier this year. 

The recent Twitter video comes after the UK Ministry of Defence in May claimed that Russia was losing a significant number of tanks in the conflict and that Moscow had moved 50-year-old T-62 tanks from "deep storage" to be deployed for use of its Southern Grouping of Forces (SGF). 

According to Newsweek, the British ministry stated that such vehicles are likely to be "particularly vulnerable" to anti-tank weapons and that the decision to deploy them on the battlefield highlights "Russia's storage of modern, combat-ready equipment". 

Around 20,000 tanks were reportedly in production in the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1973. The T-62 tanks were armed with a semi-automatic 115 mm smoothbore gun and were the last medium tank produced in the Soviet Union. They were replaced in production and frontline units by the newer T-72 main battle tanks.