The Russian army has begun deconserving old Soviet T-54 and T-55 tanks. They were spotted in echelons in the direction of Ukraine.
This was reported by a group of investigators Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT).
They emphasize that this is the first time something like this has been recorded. Tanks were spotted on echelons in the city of Arsenyev, Prymorskyi Krai, where the Central Tank Reserve and Storage Base is located.
Radio Svoboda [Radio Liberty] showed satellite images of this reserve base taken on July 12, August 19 and October 2 last year. You can see on them how the base is being emptied. In autumn, there were almost no tanks left on its open grounds.
Russia began transferring old T-62 tanks to Ukraine as early as the summer of 2022, but deconservation of the T-54 and T-55 is recorded for the first time. The T-54 was created back in 1947, and the T-55 in the 1950s. CIT emphasizes that these tanks do not have rangefinders and ballistic computers (not to mention a fire control system), they have primitive sights and (in the case of the T-54) inferior gun stabilization.