Tanks in Ukraine 2022 cover

Description

A world-renowned expert offers a focused, illustrated account of how Russian and Ukrainian armour fought during the crucial year of 2022, prior to the arrival of Western tanks.

The invasion of Ukraine has seen full-scale mechanized warfare return to Europe. While Western armour and training has been a major part of Ukraine's army since 2023, in the first year of the war both the Russian invaders and the Ukrainians fought using their existing mechanized armies, in the most devastating and high-stakes war in decades. That year, Moscow's latest tanks (bar the still undeployable T-14 Armata) found themselves engaging Ukraine's modernized and customized Soviet-era tank fleet.

World-renowned Russia specialist Mark Galeotti draws on rare Russian and Ukrainian sources to present a definitive account of the Russian and Ukrainian tanks that fought that year, before the first Western tanks arrived. He explores the rival tank armies, how they were used, and the ways they were modified in response to the emerging challenges of the war, and presents the reader with ORBATs and data on deployments new to the English-speaking world.

As the war in Ukraine revolutionizes our understanding of modern warfare, this book offers an expert assessment of how Ukrainian tanks fought the Russians to a standstill in 2022, and how the lessons learned affected the course of the war.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE UKRAINIAN TANK FORCES BEFORE THE INVASION
· Production and inventory
· T-64BM Bulat/T-64BV
· T-80UD
· T-84 Oplot

THE RUSSIAN TANK FORCES BEFORE THE INVASION
· T-72
· T-80
· T-90

ARMOURED CLASHES, 2022
· The 'Kyiv Convoy' (February/March)
· The battle of Volnovakha (February/March)
· The harrowing of the 4th Guards Tank Division (September)

REINFORCEMENTS AND REFURBISHMENTS
· T-72 variants
· M-55S
· Captured tanks
· Field modifications

SUPPORTING THE TANKS

LESSONS OF 2022
· 1. Mass still matters
· 2. See it, kill it
· 3. Tank fights are often knife fights
· 4. The drone is unavoidable
· 5. Survivability and recovery count
· 6. The tank is not dead yet

INDEX

Product details

Published Jul 17 2025
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781472866196
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Illustrated throughout with 40 photos and 8 pages of colour illustrations
Series New Vanguard
Short code NVG 341
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Mark Galeotti

Mark Galeotti is a scholar of Russian security aff…

Illustrator

Felipe Rodríguez

Felipe Rodríguez Náñez (aka Felipe Rodna) lives wi…

Resources

Book Vote

Tell us what titles you would like to see published by Osprey, then vote for your favourites in our monthly book vote!

Related Titles

Sign up for Osprey membership for access to thousands of plane profiles, maps, battle scenes and more. Plus up to 30% off website purchases

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over