They cut the last T-62: how Ukraine voluntarily destroyed its own tank army (photo)

How did it happen that Ukraine destroyed a batch of tanks, and in 2022 asked its partners to give at least a little armor? Ukraine destroyed tanks, as well as armored vehicles, artillery systems, airplanes and helicopters, which it inherited from the USSR. It was done by other former republics together with it, who wanted to show that they will not fight among themselves and respect the borders of their neighbors. Russia made the same commitments.

Focus figured out why Ukraine cut down the armored vehicles, thousands of units of which were standing on training grounds and could go into battle. From 1990 to 1992, the USSR (then 15 independent states), as well as the member states of the Warsaw Pact and the member states of NATO, signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (the Treaty on Disarmament).

In the document, which can be read on the Verkhovna Rada portal, the parties promised to voluntarily get rid of surplus military equipment. At the time of the collapse of the USSR, there were 6,500 tanks of various types on the training grounds of Ukraine. Among them are the oldest T-62 and T-54 and the newer T-72. According to the agreement, the Ukrainians promised to reduce the number of tanks to 4,080 units.

This was the first stage of disarmament, and within three years, from 1992 to 1995, "armor" was reduced by 40%. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation left the CSTO in 2007 under the pretext that NATO was expanding to the east. The Russians stopped disposing of the equipment, instead it was put into storage. After the conclusion of the agreement, the Ukrainian government began to voluntarily destroy the tanks.

To do this, they were cut, the armor was cut, the undercarriage and turret were destroyed, they were cut into metal and scrapped. Armored vehicles were deregistered, taken from test sites and taken to the nearest factory that was able to perform such a mission. For example, tanks could be sent to "Kryvorizhstal", "Lviv Armored Plant" (LBTZ), Zhytomyr and Kharkiv Armored Plants. Countries had the right to independently choose which equipment to cut, so Ukraine got rid of the oldest specimens.

LBTZ cut more than 1,000 T-52, T-54, T-62 armored vehicles, and some of them were converted into tractors, cranes, tractors. On October 31, 1995, Ukraine destroyed the last tank that it had promised to destroy under the disarmament treaty. A solemn ceremony was held in Kyiv, in which representatives of Britain and other countries took part. Probably, that is why this date is considered the symbolic day of destruction of the last T-62.

Until 2014, Ukraine continued to reduce the number of tanks, and this happened in different ways. First of all, the officials were guided by the fact that the country has a non-aligned status and there is no money in the budget to maintain large stocks of military equipment. For these reasons, Ukrainian government officials began to write off, preserve, and also sell weapons abroad: they sold, among other things, tanks. The main buyers were African and Asian countries.

In addition, almost a third of exports went to Russia. On the infographic of the "Word and Deed" project, we can see that during the years of independence, Ukraine lost a total of 2,577 tanks. The largest number, 1,000 units, was during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. At the same time, as evidenced by journalistic investigations, civil servants together with accomplices organized the illegal sale of Soviet weapons.

In 2021, the "Prohibition" portal talked about some items of clothing from the 90s and 2000s. Smugglers exported any military equipment: from tanks to helicopters. One of the stories is 33 T-72 tanks for South Sudan. The company "Ukrspecexport" appeared in the case, which stated that the equipment was sold legally and taken to Kenya.

Armored vehicles of the Russian Federation in 2022-2025 In the first days of the invasion of the Russian Federation, Ukrainians saw old and new tanks headed for Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The approximate number of working armored vehicles in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is 2,927 units. Even 60-year-old T-62 tanks were spotted at the front: most of such incidents took place in 2022-2023.

In the fall of 2025, analysts determined that Moscow could receive about 200 tanks during the year: some new, some restored from old Soviet ones. With what armor Ukraine met the invasion of the Russian Federation Along with the sale and cutting up, Ukraine modernized the old Soviet tanks and began to produce the new T-84BM "Oplot". At the time of the Russian invasion, the Armed Forces had about 1,000 tanks — 6. 5 times less than before disarmament.

To cope with the lack of armor, the partners transferred 800-1000 tanks to Ukraine: T-72, Leopard 2, Abrams, Challenger 2, AMX-10, T-72/PT-91. On October 31, 1995, Ukraine fulfilled the disarmament agreement by destroying the last T-62 tank. After that, armored vehicles were exported, written off, and stolen for 30 years. In 2025, the Russian Federation will continue to have tanks, which it throws into mechanized assaults on various areas of the front.