Why does russia send tanks into ukraine ?

3

u/Jurangi Jun 07 '22

Russia has a lot of tanks. It doesn't really hurt them to lose some to gain a bit of ground. It would be like the US sending a million planes into a country with a lot of anti aircraft capabilities.

I wouldn't say it was smart, but without outside interference, Russia surely would have overwhelmed Ukraine with their tanks alone.

1

u/RelativeRiver Jun 07 '22

why dont they send air craft in or bombers in ?

1

u/EverGreatestxX Jun 07 '22

Because artillery use is more cost effective. Especially considering Russia borders Ukraine. Modern fighters and bombers cost millions of dollars each and pilots take months to train effectively.

1

u/Alternative-Ear-8514 Jun 07 '22

Cause they don’t understand how to use air and ground together. Mostly the just shoot the missiles from planes in Russia airspace so they don’t get shot down.

But they have gone through over 1/3 of their working tanks in Ukrainian they can’t keep it up much longer tbh. They will be burned out in a couple months. Any tanks they can scrounge up are older models too. Russia just not that Competent, they have lost more generals in Ukraine than the USA lost all of Iraq and Afghan.

1

u/Alternative-Ear-8514 Jun 07 '22

They had 2800 going in, (other than can be fixed but most of their old stock is up fixable I think the total is like 5-6k there are YouTube videos that break it down) and they have lost 1000 to date in Ukrainian they don’t have as many as you think, they are probably down to like 1800 right now, they can do it for another 2-3 months and they will be out,

3

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '22

It's war. You send you armor and weapons and use them, and sometimes they get destroyed...because that's what happens in war. It's not like every tank or piece of armor or weaponry used in war automatically gets destroyed.

Russia has a huge military with lots of tanks and armor, so they can always send more, and those that aren't destroyed can still do their job.

1

u/RelativeRiver Jun 07 '22

why dont they send air craft in or bombers in ?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '22

They are. War has a lot of nuance and different weapons are needed for different applications. Bombing from the air is great if you're trying to destroy buildings, but tanks can be used to destroy very specific targets such as vehicles, a particular door or part of a building (not the whole building itself). They also help provide extra cover for infantry. Tanks are also far more useful for eliminating smaller arms and enemy infantry...targets that are tiny and can move/displace in such a way that they can survive or escape being bombed.

2

u/Grezzinate Jun 07 '22

Russia isn’t exactly playing 4D chess, they’re making a lot of idiot mistakes.

2

u/KDAdontBanPls Jun 07 '22

Had to send hundreds of dinos to their deaths in a computer game, I raided that base eventually tho 🤷‍♂️

2

u/_Lunatic_Fridge_ Jun 08 '22

Soviet doctrine, which Russia still uses, calls for overwhelming the enemy with numbers. Which works, as long as your follow-on forces are also well equipped. Russia has had serious problems maintaining their combat vehicles and has a history of corruption. Much of the funding that was supposed to keep their tank fleets maintained ended up as yachts. Russia ended up committing most of it combat capability to Ukraine and for the commanders in the ground, that’s what they’ve got to fight with.

1

u/ThrowawayCop51 Jun 07 '22

Russia has alot of tanks. Their doctrine during the Cold War involved massed formations of armored (tanks) and mechanized infantry (troops carried by armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles) formations.

This is part of a "combined arms" doctrine. Tanks are supported by infantraly and their mechanized transports. Those formations are supported by artillery and close air support.

When executed properly, it is devastaing to enemy formations.

Russia (as the Soviet Union) knew they could never match NATO in technology and training, so their plan was to throw everything including the kitchen sink into West Germany.

In Ukraine, Russia had a clear advantage in numbers, and more modern equipment. But their ability to execute a combined arms strategy was garbage. They also vastly underestimated the level of Ukrainian resistance, and NATO's willingness to send billions of dollars in munitions and weapons systems.

Tanks specifically, the Russian Army is sending tank formations out on their own with little to no infantry support. This makes them extraordinarily susceptible to hit-and-run ambushes from small hunter-killer teams with ATGM's (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles) and RPG's (Rocket Propelled Grenades)

You set up an ambush position. Fire off a few ATGM's and cook incoming armor. Move a few miles down the road, rinse and repeat.

1

u/Tyxin Jun 07 '22

They want to shoot ukrainians, obviously.

1

u/Bacon_Hunter Jun 07 '22

sPeCiAl mIlItArY OpErAtIoN

1

u/untitled-33 Jun 07 '22

To help Ukraine get rid of all those javelins before they hit the black market

1

u/DiogenesKuon Jun 07 '22

Tanks and other armored vehicles are still fundamental to a modern battlefield, especially for advancing into enemy terrain. They may be vulnerable to ATGMs, mines, and drones, but the alternative is either unarmed vehicles (which are more vulnerable) or a walking invasion (both dangerous and very slow). If you want to take territory you are going to need armored vehicles for your advance, and dismounted infantry for holding terrain.

Why does russia send tanks into ukraine ? Meta