Burned-out Russian tanks on display on Kyiv streets as Putin’s invasion continues to splutter

Downtown Kyiv has been turned into a massive open-air museum of burned-out and captured Russian tanks, as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues to splutter.

Footage emerged on social media today of locals walking through the capital’s streets and stopping to take a look at dozens of military vehicles in the middle of the road.

The powerful image of the rusty weapons is a damning indictment of Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv.

It comes as Britain this week mocked the ‘poor performance’ of its armed forces, as data suggests more than 44,000 Kremlin soldiers have been killed and some 1,800 tanks destroyed.

Tanks for the memories! Footage emerged on social media today of locals walking through the capital’s streets and stopping to take a look at dozens of military vehicles in the middle of the road

The powerful image of the rusty weapons is a damning indictment of Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv

A daily intelligence report by the Ministry of Defence said Moscow had lost a large number of battle tanks because they were not equipped with explosive reactive armour technology – or ERA.

‘Used correctly, ERA degrades the effectiveness of incoming projectiles before they hit the tank,’ the report said. ‘This suggests that Russian forces have not rectified a culture of poor ERA use, which dates back to the First Chechen War in 1994.’

The report added: ‘It is highly likely that many Russian tank crews lack the training to maintain ERA, leading to either poor fitting of the explosive elements, or it being left off entirely.’ 

British officials said ‘the war has seen numerous failures by Russian commanders to enforce low-level battle discipline’, adding: ‘The effect of these failures is likely a significant factor behind the poor performance of Russia’s forces.’ 

Data released by Ukraine’s military said their troops have killed more than 44,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed some 1,800 tanks. 

Other estimates, such as from Oryx – a military blog that has tracked Russian losses since the start of the war – put Moscow’s equipment losses even higher.

Oryx, which tracks losses based on visual confirmation, says more than 5,000 Russian military vehicles have been either destroyed, damaged or seized by Ukraine’s forces – including more than 3,000 tanks.

Moscow brazenly expected to seize Kyiv in a matter of days. Instead, Putin’s forces have found themselves fighting a protracted conflict against a fierce Ukrainian resistance. 

While Russia has employed Soviet-era tactics and military hardware, Ukraine has deployed smaller, more mobile units – to great effect – that can strike targets and quickly retreat from danger before the invaders can react – allowing Ukraine to halt Russia’s advance and in some regions push it back.

The UK has given Ukraine almost 7,000 anti-tank missiles since Putin’s troops invaded the country on February 24, while Kyiv has also made effective use of U.S.-supplied weaponry, especially the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Russia has taken a series of major blows as a result of Kyiv having such advanced weaponry.

Dozens of videos have shown Ukraine’s forces destroying Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles, employing drones to track the slow-moving hardware while attacking them with artillery and missiles, such as the highly mobile hand-held Javelin missile – which enables foot soldiers to destroy tanks in close-range combat.