This is the Russian Tank Troop, the T 72 Tank

While Ukraine inherited many T-72s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its army favored the T-64 and T-80, over the T-72. These tanks have faced the Russian Army's own T-72s, as well as other types, hundreds of which rolled across the border nearly six weeks ago.
This isn't the first report we've seen like this, rumors of a rumored and eventually canceled transfer of the MiG-29 from Poland had made headlines early in the war. We cover the plan, its complexities, and its final destruction in some of the stories you can find.

The move, if accurate, is undoubtedly an escalation in arms transfers to Ukraine. But unlike fighter jets which can only be moved with high escalation risks and unique logistical efforts, the main battle tank can cross borders intact and ready for use via train, truck, or motorized vehicle on its own.

More importantly, there are far more T-72s in NATO stocks than Soviet-era fighter jets. The MiG-29 remains a frontline fighter for Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia that will need to be replenished to keep the air force capabilities intact, which will be a huge task. However, of the NATO T-72 owners, many have been spared or actively replaced by more capable and much more modern western tanks.

Some of the same players in the ill-fated MiG-29 deal also own the T-72. Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia all operate the tanks and have some in stock.

Most were Soviet export models upgraded from the standard T-72M, not quite on par with the very modern T-72B3 version used by the Russian Army. The latest Russian models feature better armor, fire control and self-protection systems than older export models. But with the abundance of media showing the destroyed Russian tank as an indicator, Ukraine is more than capable of pulling out Russian armor. How many kills were carried out tank-to-tank is unknown.

The most obvious potential supplier is Poland. Its troops are equipped with nearly 400 T-72M1s by 2020 with all undergoing modernization. In addition there are more than 200 Polish PT-91 Twardy tanks. The PT-91 features an improved digital fire control system than the original T-72, as well as improved armor and explosion-reactive-armor (ERA) power generation. Some of the PT-91s were newly built while others were upgraded from the T-72M1.

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