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Ukraine's Soviet-era T-72 tanks have no air conditioning. Crews of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade in Zaporizhzhia Oblast are cooling themselves with water beside their tanks as a European heatwave pushes local temperatures toward 36°C, Reuters reports.
Ukraine's tank force remains predominantly made up of Soviet-era platforms such as T-64s and T-72s, with Western tanks arriving in small tranches over three years. Up to 49 additional M1 Abrams began arriving in Ukraine in mid-2025.
Russia's tank fleet has similarly leaned on aging platforms in 2026: Russian forces are fielding T-72AMs in the Kostiantynivka offensive.
Sergeant Sympatiaha, a tank battalion senior sergeant with the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said his crew's T-72 becomes very hot after combat missions.
"The vehicle gets very hot after completing its mission. The temperature inside can become really hot," he explained.
At positions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where active operations continue on Ukraine's southern front, tank crews cool themselves with water directly beside their combat vehicles. Local temperatures are forecast to reach approximately 36°C in the coming days.
The T-72 weighs 41 to 45 tons, and its steel hull heats rapidly in direct sunlight. The sergeant said Ukrainian defenders continue operations despite conditions.
"Despite the harsh weather conditions - scorching heat now, freezing temperatures and mud in winter - we're still holding the line. We're continuing to fight the Russian forces," he added.
Russia is returning outdated T-62 tanks to service due to mounting equipment losses in its full-scale war against Ukraine and a shortage of modern military equipment, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on June 28.
"The key factors limiting the ability to produce modern armored vehicles in Russia are a lack of industrial capacity and a shortage of imported high-tech components," the agency said.
According to HUR, the restoration of T-62 tanks is primarily carried out at a facility in the village of Atamanovka in Russia's far-eastern Zabaykalsky Krai.
Russia transferred 21 T-62 tanks from its eastern military district to the European part of the country, the intel claimed.
HUR said that Russia’s stockpile of Soviet-era tanks from the 1970s is being depleted, while most T-62s are even in worse condition after decades of open-air storage without maintenance.
Some of these tanks can also be used at the front as stationary firing points to reinforce defensive positions.
"Due to a severe shortage of modern main battle tanks such as the T-90M and T-72B3M, the deployment of T-62s is seen as a temporary but necessary measure," the statement read.
Since the start of its full-scale war in February 2022, Russia has lost 10,970 tanks, Ukraine's General Staff said in its latest update on June 28.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these numbers.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
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