These numbers should be considered illustrative rather than definitive. In particular, the apparent implosion of tank and helicopter holdings in recent years strongly suggests that prior year holdings were over-estimated, and included a number of non-operational stored vehicles. By 2014 most of Ukraine’s tanks were in storage and will stay there.

By the time the Russians began fomenting unrest in Donbas, military detachments had begun to move eastward but a lot of equipment and vehicles were broken and old. During the course of combat operations, many vehicles were discovered to be inoperable or highly unreliable. The situation became critical. Some units of the police and local Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) in eastern Ukraine reneged on their service oaths and actively handed over weapons and administration buildings. According to the Canadian DND, through August 2014 the Ukrainian Military lost nearly 220 tanks [a quarter of the total] and more than 480 armored vehicles destroyed and damaged.