Summary and Key Points: Main battle tanks (MBTs) are pivotal in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with both sides deploying various models, including Soviet-era tanks.

-Russia's tank fleet has suffered significant losses due to Ukraine's Western-supplied anti-tank weapons. Ukraine is bolstering its forces with advanced tanks like the M1 Abrams, Challenger, and Leopard, as well as its own T-84 Oplot.

-The T-84, an upgraded version of the Soviet T-80, features enhanced armor, speed, and weaponry but remains costly and slow to produce. Despite its capabilities, Ukraine prioritizes incoming Western tanks over expanding its T-84 fleet.

Ukraine's Tank Fleet: How the T-84 Oplot Compares to Western Models

Main battle tanks play a central role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, both Moscow and Kyiv have deployed a wide array of tanks to the frontlines. These include Soviet-era models and World War II relics. 

Russia’s armored fleet has been decimated by Ukraine’s Western-delivered anti-tank weaponry. Open-source intelligence experts believe Moscow has lost at least 3,000 MBTs since the war first erupted. Ukraine is doing slightly better, especially now that the U.S. and its NATO allies deliver more advanced tank alternatives like the American-made M1 Abrams, the British Challenger, and the German Leopard. 

Kyiv also wants to supplement its tank fleet with the domestically produced T-84 Oplot. As an upgraded version of a typical Soviet-era design, the Oplot has enhanced armor and stands out for its speed and weaponry. While the Ukrainian tank appeared promising, its high cost and long construction time have slowed the growth of the fleet as the war drags on.

Introducing the T-84

More than two decades ago, Kharkiv’s Malyshev Factory produced ten T-84 Oplots for the Ukrainian army. 

The tank was based on a variant of the Soviet-era T-80 MBT. To address the T-80’s fuel inefficiency, Kharkiv engineers developed the T-80U model with a 6TD-1, 1,000-horsepower diesel engine, which was less pricey and more fuel-efficient than its predecessor. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Kharkiv Design Bureau was separated from Russia’s industrial base and secured by Ukraine. The Oplot was soon developed, based on the T-80U. 

Of the ten T-84s delivered to the Ukrainian army in the early 2000s, four were ultimately sold to America. Kyiv never got around to producing more of these tanks – they were too expensive.

Ukraine’s remaining Oplots are equipped with a KT-12.7 anti-aircraft machine gun, a KT-7.62 coaxial machine gun, and a KBA-3 125mm smoothbore gun. Ammunition includes High Explosive Anti Tank rounds and High Explosive Fragmentation rounds. 

As detailed by Army Technology, “The main gun can also fire a laser guided missile against battle tanks, armoured vehicles and hovering helicopters within the range of 5,000m. The missile can be fired on the move against travelling targets. The tandem warhead fitted on the missile can defeat targets equipped with explosive reactive armour and advanced spaced armour. Oplot has 46 rounds of ammunition for the main gun, of which 28 rounds are placed in the automatic loader. Other ammunition types carried are 1,250 rounds for KT-7.62 machine gun, 450 rounds for KT-12.7 machine gun and 450 rounds for AKS submachine gun.”

Will We See More Oplots?

These Ukrainian tanks were designed with increased survivability in mind. The MBTs are fitted with Soviet Kontakt-5 bricks and Ukrainian Nozh explosive reactive armor (ERA) panels designed to protect the tank from multiple strikes. The newer Oplot-M variant introduced double-layered Duplet ERA, which helps minimize armor-piercing attacks, according to Popular Mechanics.

While the T-84 is certainly a more capable MBT than many of its Soviet-era counterparts, fielding more of them in the current state of war is not a top priority – especially considering their high cost, and the country’s incoming shipments of advanced Western tanks.

About the Author: Defense Expert Maya Carlin 

Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. 

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock. 

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