1/ From storage base to battlefield: Part 2. Back with another thread on T-80s tanks in Russian storage. This time, I’ll dig deeper into what’s been missed and what’s been scrapped. Grab a coffe before reading! :) 
2/ The main question is: how many T-80s were actually in storage? You might’ve heard about 3,000 T-80s stored, but let’s dig deeper to find them. I recommend reading part one of the research before continuing here.
https://x.com/a_from_s/status/1846957984330797077
3/ Tracking T-80s wasn’t easy due to changes between 2009-2015. Initially, they cut their military and essentially said, “Forget T-80s; we’re sticking with T-72s and T-90s.” But by 2013-2014, with Ukraine’s revolution, T-80s returned to service as new units formed for an invasion
4/ From units to bases, and back to units—a total mindf*ck. In part one, I used research from Highmarsed, Jompy, and Covert Cabal as a foundation, with some additions. In part two, I realized there’s a lot of missing data.
5/ While researching, I found an old Russian forum detailing the military’s structure in 2009, their 2011-2012 plans, and the equipment in service and at storage bases (BHViT). archive.ph/2013.02.19-175…
6/ According to the source, each of the bases below stored 41 T-80s in 2009. These weren’t covered in research by Highmarsed, Jompy, or Covert Cabal when it comes to T-80s. So, I checked if they’re still active, and if they had T-80s.
7/ I confirmed T-80s at the 230th and 237th bases in part one and added them to this research. I found more blind spots that weren’t uncovered before.
8/ The 240th base was mistakenly listed as the 82nd battalion in Jompy’s research. It had 80+ tanks, likely two battalions (41+41), with command tanks stored in garages.
9/ The 262nd base near Boguchar, by the Ukrainian border, wasn’t mentioned in any research. In 2015, media claimed a 1st tank brigade would be formed there, but it wasn’t. Around 160 tanks with T-80BV features were at Boguchar, but not in the 3rd division’s tank regiment location
10/ Bases 245 and 247 had around 60 visible tanks, though I can’t confirm if they’re T-80s. More tanks might be in garages. No further findings yet, but I’ll keep looking.
11/ Bases 216 and 243 stored artillery, with no evidence of tanks. Bases 99 and 261 likely no longer exist.
12/ Here’s my estimate of missed T-80s from these bases. This estimate isn’t only about visible tanks; tanks were stored in battalions of 41. If we’re missing some, they’re likely in unseen locations.
13/ "Partially confirmed" bases have tanks, but they’re either unidentifiable as T-80s or lack the full count of 41. Even excluding them, there are still 300+ confirmed T-80s left unaccounted for, mostly B/BVs.
14/ Now to refurbished and modernized tanks from storage. Russians took more than 5 battalions of T-80BVs from storage and refurbished them for military expansion from 2018 onward. By 2021, 220 T-80BVs were active across multiple brigades and the 423rd tank regiment.
15/ By 2015, Russian sources suggest there were few, if any, active T-80BVs. So, 200+ BVs were reactivated from 2015-2021. Donors were needed for refurbishing these tanks. Every piece of this information was taken from Russian media channels.
16/ Another two battalions (50+ tanks) were pulled from storage and modernized to the BVM version by Omsk pre-war, starting in 2017. From 2015-2017, about 50 T-80s arrived at the plant, likely for scrapping and donor parts.
17/ With around 100 tanks used for two battalions of T-80BVMs and 200+ BVs refurbished to arm new units, not all are accounted for.
Back at storage bases, around 60 T-80BV hulls were scrapped at the 111th base in 2011-2014.
Back at storage bases, around 60 T-80BV hulls were scrapped at the 111th base in 2011-2014.
18/ Another batch of tanks was scrapped between 2015-2021, mostly T-55/62s. In 2022, more BVs were scrapped, but they were included in Jompy's research. Just worth mentioning.
19/ T-80U/UDs were stored at the 103rd base (1, 2). Though only a few, this could mean more were scrapped, stored among T-64s with similar features, making identification difficult with poor imagery (3). I believe some U/UDs were scrapped here.
20/ T-80s were also at the 349th base (2, 3), though I'll keep the count conservative due to similar T-64s.
21/ Tank numbers at the 1311th base dropped in 2013-2015, increasing after 2022. This base shrank partly due to military expansion and the Donbas hybrid war. In 2023, T-80s were taken from the garages.
In the zone nearby other tanks, mostly T-62s, were scrapped in 2013-2022.
In the zone nearby other tanks, mostly T-62s, were scrapped in 2013-2022.
22/ Another note: the closed 206 BTRZ had T-80s cut to pieces. They’ve sat there a while, but at least 100 T-80s were likely scrapped. The real number is unclear, but you can see there's a lot of them. There were other tanks as well, I know.
23/ 103 BTRZ also stored T-80s, possibly there's more in the junkyard (1, 2).
At 61 BTRZ, the scrapping process for tanks has been ongoing since 2011, evident by the number of turrets present (3, 4). T-64s here as well.
At 61 BTRZ, the scrapping process for tanks has been ongoing since 2011, evident by the number of turrets present (3, 4). T-64s here as well.
24/ Here’s my table with a rough T-80 count from storage bases + my findings. If there were indeed 3K T-80s in storage, then at least 450-500 were refurbished or scrapped from 2010-2021. This suggests another 200-300 T-80s were likely in garages, bringing the total closer to 3K
25/ That's it for today! The research will be updated if any mistakes are found. Hope you enjoyed it.
You can toss a coin to your OSINT fella on Buy Me A Coffe for support if you like what I'm doing. Patreon and PayPal in bio for the same purpose.
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buymeacoffee.com/justbecauseosi…
You can toss a coin to your OSINT fella on Buy Me A Coffe for support if you like what I'm doing. Patreon and PayPal in bio for the same purpose.
🫡
buymeacoffee.com/justbecauseosi…
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