Friday, 17 December 2021

Equipment losses during the 2nd Chechen War

Friday, December 17, 2021 0 Comments


The First Chechen War, which lasted for two years, ended in 1997, but the government led by President Aslan Maskhadov failed to rebuild the Chechen Republic and contain the growing Islamic fundamentalist forces, resulting in domestic unrest. Despite Maskhadov's decision to abolish the Chechen parliament and introduce parts of Sharia (Islamic law) in an attempt to appease the Islamic fundamentalist forces, figures such as Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab from Saudi Arabia continued to effectively weaken Maskhadov's rule.

In April 1998, the International Islamic Front, led by Basayev and al-Khattab, publicly declared its goal of establishing Islamic emirates in Chechnya and Dagestan and expelling Russians from the entire Caucasus region. This sparked the Second Chechen War (1999-2009). In August 1999, approximately 1,500 Chechen fighters led by Basayev and al-Khattab invaded the neighboring Republic of Dagestan, followed by a second invasion in early September. The fighting that ensued during these invasions resulted in hundreds of deaths and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

At this point, the idea of ​​invading Chechnya was still largely met with strong opposition within Russia. However, a series of apartment bombings in Moscow in early September, which killed 307 civilians, shifted public opinion in favor of a "resolution" to the Chechen problem. Although Chechen militants denied responsibility for the bombings, it goes without saying that these events provided President Vladimir Putin with a perfect pretext to justify an invasion of Chechnya. Currently, the prevailing theory is that these attacks were actually carried out by the FSB on President Putin's orders, either to maintain his own position or to create a justification for a war that was supposedly extremely unpopular.

After conducting large-scale airstrikes over Chechnya from late August to September 1999, Russia launched a ground invasion on October 5. In the initial offensive, Russian forces and pro-Russian Chechen militias successfully cleared the Chechen Security Forces (CSF) without encountering resistance in combat. This was because, in contrast to the First Chechen War, the CSF possessed virtually no heavy weaponry. Russia also deployed new aircraft (Ka-50?) and precision-guided missiles for the first time in combat, targeting the Chechen leadership and their hideouts.

You may recall that Grozny, the Chechen capital, fell in February 2002 after a winter siege, leaving the city in ruins. Organized resistance against the Russian army ended in May 2000, but resistance throughout the country continued for nine years until 2009. Afterward, the remaining Chechen forces (including foreign Islamic fundamentalist volunteers: the mujahideen) shifted to guerrilla warfare, but most met their end, being annihilated (including former presidents Basayev, al-Khattab, and Maskhadov).

On October 5, 2003, President Putin ordered elections to be held in Chechnya, and former separatist Akhmat Kadyrov ultimately won. However, it is easy to imagine that he was not destined to remain in power for long. In fact, his assassination in 2004 speaks volumes about that fate. Currently, his son, Ramzan, continues to rule Chechnya.

  1. A detailed list of weapons used by both sides in the Second Chechen War can be found below.
  2. This list only includes weapons that were destroyed or captured and verifiable through photographs or videos. Therefore, the actual number of weapons lost is undoubtedly greater than the number recorded here.
  3. Mortars, trucks, and weapons that were already decommissioned are not included in this list.
  4. Equipment found (with parts stripped) in large Russian junkyards is included only if it is damaged beyond repair or used for cannibalization. The dates listed do not necessarily indicate the exact date the equipment was lost (they are only approximate). Items manufactured before 1991 are marked with the Soviet flag.
  5. A detailed list of weapons used by both sides in the First Chechen War can be found here.
  6. Clicking the number following the name of each weapon type will allow you to view images of that weapon type that have been destroyed or captured.

Russia (292, of which 289 were destroyed, 1 was damaged, and 2 were Captured)

Tanks (23, of which 23 were destroyed)

Armored fighting vehicles (33, of which 33 were destroyed)
  1. 3 BRDM-2: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed)
  2. 2 BRM-1K: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed)
  3. 20 MT-LB: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, Destroyed) (7, Destroyed) (8, Destroyed) (9, Destroyed) (14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, Destroyed) (20, Destroyed)
  4. 5 MT-LBu: (1, Destroyed) (2 and 3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed)
  5. 1 RKhM CBRN recon vehicle: (1, Destroyed)
  6. 2 UnknownAFV: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed)

Infantry fighting vehicles (110, of which 108 were destroyed and 2 were Captured)
  1. 23 BMP-1: (1 and 2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6 and 7, Destroyed) (8, Destroyed) (9, Destroyed) (10, Destroyed) (11, Destroyed) (12, Destroyed) (13, Destroyed) (14, Destroyed) (15, Destroyed) (16 and 17, Destroyed) (18, Destroyed) (19, Destroyed) (20, Destroyed) (21, Destroyed) (22, Destroyed) (23, Destroyed)
  2. 1 BMP-1P: (1, Destroyed)
  3. 72 BMP-2: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, Destroyed) (7, Destroyed) (8, Destroyed) (9, Destroyed) (10, Destroyed) (11, Destroyed) (12, Destroyed) (13, Destroyed) (14, 15 and 16, Destroyed) (17, Destroyed) (18, Destroyed) (19, Destroyed) (20, Destroyed) (21, Destroyed) (22, Destroyed) (23, Destroyed) (24, Destroyed) (25, Destroyed) (26, Destroyed) (27 and 28, Destroyed) (29, Destroyed) (30, Destroyed) (31, Destroyed) (32, Destroyed) (33, Destroyed) (34, Destroyed) (35, Destroyed) (36, Destroyed) (37, Destroyed) (38, Destroyed) (39, Destroyed) (40, Destroyed) (41, Destroyed) (42, Destroyed) (43, Destroyed) (44, Destroyed) (45, Destroyed) (46, Destroyed) (47, Destroyed) (48, Destroyed) (49, Destroyed) (50, Destroyed) (51, Destroyed) (52, Destroyed) (53, Destroyed) (54, Destroyed) (55, Destroyed) (56, Destroyed) (57, Destroyed) (58, Destroyed) (59, Destroyed) (60, Destroyed) (61, Destroyed) (62 and 63, Destroyed) (64, Destroyed) (65, Destroyed) (66 and 67, Destroyed) (68 and 69, Destroyed) (70, Destroyed) (1, Captured) (2, Captured)
  4. 12 UnknownBMP-1/2: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, Destroyed) (7, Destroyed) (8, Destroyed) (9, Destroyed) (10, Destroyed) (11 and 12, Destroyed)
  5. 2 BMD-2: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed)

Armored personnel carriers (58, of which 58 were destroyed)
  1. 6 BTR-60PB: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, Destroyed)
  2. 12 BTR-70: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, 7, 8 and 9, Destroyed) (10, 11 and 12, Destroyed)
  3. 38 BTR-80:(1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed) (4, Destroyed) (5, Destroyed) (6, Destroyed) (7, Destroyed) (8, Destroyed) (9, Destroyed) (10, Destroyed) (11, Destroyed) (12, Destroyed) (13, Destroyed) (14, Destroyed) (15, Destroyed) (16, Destroyed) (17, Destroyed) (18, Destroyed) (19, Destroyed) (20, Destroyed) (21, Destroyed) (22, Destroyed) (23, Destroyed) (24, Destroyed) (25, Destroyed) (26, Destroyed) (27, Destroyed) (28, Destroyed) (29, Destroyed) (30, Destroyed) (31, Destroyed) (32, Destroyed) (33, Destroyed) (34, Destroyed) (35 and 36, Destroyed) (37, Destroyed) (38, Destroyed)
  4. 2 BTR-D:(1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed)

Engineer vehicles (2, of which 2 were destroyed)
  1. 1 IMR-2 Armored Recovery Vehicle: (1, Destroyed)
  2. 1 PTS-2 Amphibious Transport Vehicle: (1, Destroyed)

Artillery support vehicles (2, of which 2 were destroyed)
  1. 2 1V13 Company command/forward observation vehicle:(1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed)

Self-propelled artillery (7, of which 7 were destroyed)
  1. 1 122mm 2S1 Gvozika: (1, Destroyed)
  2. 3 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed)
  3. 3 152mm 2S19 Msta: (1, Destroyed) (2, Destroyed) (3, Destroyed)

Aircraft (6, of which 6 were destroyed)

Helicopters (51, of which 50 were destroyed and 1 was damaged)
  1. 11 Mi-8MT Transport helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed) (4, Crashed) (5, Crashed) (6, Crashed) (7, Crashed) (8, Crashed) (9, Crashed) (10, Crashed) (11, Crashed)
  2. 1 Mi-8MTV-1 Transport helicopter: (1, Destroyed on the ground)
  3. 5 Mi-8MTV-2 Transport helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed) (4, Crashed) (5, Crashed)
  4. 11 Mi-8 Transport helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed) (4, Crashed) (5, Crashed) (6, Crashed) (7, Crashed) (8, Crashed) (9, Crashed) (10, Crashed) (11, Crashed)
  5. 1 Mi-8 Electronic warfare helicopter: (1, Crashedまたは地上Destroyed)
  6. 3 Mi-26T Transport helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed)
  7. 3 Mi-24V Attack helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (1, 損傷)
  8. 9 Mi-24P Attack helicopter:  (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed) (4, Crashed) (5, Crashed) (6, Crashed) (7, Crashed) (8, Crashed) (9, Crashed)
  9. 2 Mi-24 Attack helicopter: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed)
  10. 5 Unknown Mi-8/24: (1, Crashed) (2, Crashed) (3, Crashed) (4, Crashed) (5, Crashed)


Chechnya (14, of which 5 were destroyed and 9 were Captured)

Tank (1, of which Captured: 1)

Armored fighting vehicles (2, of which 2 were Captured)
  1. 1 BRDM-2: (1, Captured)
  2. 1 MT-LB: (1, Captured)

Infantry fighting vehicles (5, of which 3 were destroyed and 2 were Captured)

Armored personnel carriers (2, of which 1 was destroyed and 1 was Captured)
  1. 2 BTR-80: (1, Destroyed) (1, Captured)

Multiple rocket launcher (1, of which 1 was Captured)
  1. 1 122mm BM-21 Grad: (1, Captured)

Aircraft (1, of which 1 was destroyed)
  1. 1 An-2 Transport aircraft: (1, 地上Destroyed)

Trucks, soft-skinned vehicles, jeeps (2, of which Captured: 2)
  1. 1 Ural-375D with 23mm ZU-23 autocannon: (1, Captured)
  2. 1 KamAZ 6x6 with 23mm 2A42 30mm autocannon: (1, Captured)

Special thanks to：Tarao Goo.

[1] Azerbaijan buys the deadly Turkish Bayraktar TB2 mid-range strike UAV https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2020/06/27/azerbaijan-buys-the-deadly-turkish-bayraktar-tb2-mid-range-strike-uav/
[2] Statement from Minister Champagne on suspension of export permits to Turkey https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2020/10/statement-from-minister-champagne-on-suspension-of-export-permits-to-turkey.html

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