Russia Cannibalises Tank Units to Feed Infantry Assaults

(DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE) – Russian tank units are effectively disappearing from the battlefield as Moscow’s forces cannibalise their own armoured formations to supply infantry for costly frontal assaults, according to multiple Russian sources.

A military analyst writing under the name Vagner Kitten, citing an account from the 110th Brigade’s tank battalion of the Russian armed forces, reported that tanks are now rarely involved in direct combat operations. Instead, every two to three weeks, two personnel from each company of the battalion are reassigned to infantry storm units.

The analyst described these storm units as being “sent to the slaughter”. He stated that companies no longer maintain three platoons except on paper, with most soldiers having been sent to assault units, killed, or listed as missing.

“This is how tankers are unceremoniously disappearing,” the analyst wrote. “Then, most likely, the battalion will be abolished on paper. Since there are no people, there will be no tanks and no battalion.”

The assessment reflects a broader Russian adaptation over the past two years. Facing a shortage of armoured vehicles relative to manpower, Russian commanders have increasingly relied on infantry advances on foot, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and civilian cars. Armoured assaults have been significantly reduced in scale and frequency because vehicles entering Ukrainian kill zones are rapidly identified and destroyed.

The Russian analyst appealed directly to the Russian defence minister and to the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, describing the practice of sending experienced tankers into storm units as an illegal disposal of lives. He noted that these personnel possess irreplaceable combat experience dating back to the beginning of what Moscow calls its “special military operation”.

In a separate account, a Russian electrical engineer who volunteered for military service described being assigned to lead infantry assaults despite receiving firm promises that he would work exclusively in his speciality. The engineer, whose story was relayed by a Russian source named Maxim Kalishnikov, said commanders admitted that by 2024 the regiment had been completely replaced three times, excluding its leadership.

The engineer reported that all electronic warfare equipment in his unit had become scrap metal, rendering his technical skills useless. During assaults, he sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, including a pierced vein and artery in his thigh. Medics were ordered to return all personnel with intact limbs to the front line regardless of their condition.

After crawling for more than a day with a severe leg injury, the engineer received a fresh tourniquet and bandages before being sent back into battle. He later suffered shrapnel wounds to both legs and a six-millimetre piece of shrapnel lodged deep in his brain. Despite this, he was not discharged for health reasons.

Analysts say the Russian military is systematically destroying its own technical expertise by sending trained specialists including tank commanders and engineers into infantry assault roles where their skills are wasted and their survival rates are low. The practice is widely regarded as unsustainable for Russia’s long-term military capacity.