Russia is stockpiling modern armored vehicles at storage bases: what this could mean

Russia appears to be preparing to change how it uses its armored forces, but the true purpose of these actions remains unclear. Under one scenario, Moscow could be reverting to a Soviet model of forming reserve divisions, but there is no confirmation of that yet.

Relatively new combat equipment is being concentrated at only a few strategic facilities deep inside Russian territory, OSINT analyst Jompy reported on social network X.

What equipment might Russia have sent into storage?

According to the analyst, storage bases are allegedly accumulating T-90M and T-72B3 tanks, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and BMD-4M airborne IFVs, as well as 2S19 "Msta-S" and 2S44 "Hyacinth-K" self-propelled artillery systems.

This version has also been considered by Ukrainian specialized sources. At the same time, the mere movement of equipment to storage bases does not mean that the Russian army is abandoning it or changing the structure of its combat units.

According to Jompy’s description, equipment is being concentrated at several sites. In particular, at the 80-th and 374-th bases near the border with Finland, wheeled SPHs 2S43 "Malva" and 2S44 "Hyacinth-K" are allegedly being stockpiled. At the 22-th base in Arkhangelsk region, T-90M tanks, BTR-82A vehicles and BMP-3 were spotted, and at base No. 6018 near the border with Central Asia — BMP-3M and BMD-4M.

So far it is difficult to identify a pattern in the choice of these sites. Also missing is key information: whether these vehicles were taken from active military units, or whether this is new equipment that was sent to storage immediately after production.

Is Russia reducing the amount of armored equipment in its forces?

One possible explanation is that Russia is trying to preserve heavy armored equipment for the long term rather than expend it in the war against Ukraine. This view is expressed by armored warfare historian Andriy Tarasenko.

The trend is fairly obvious, that’s all I’m saying. Laying the groundwork for the long term. It just doesn’t make sense to expend this heavy, expensive equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, which is saturated with drones, right now,

— the researcher notes.

At the same time, preserving heavy equipment for the future does not necessarily mean a reduction in the number of armored units. In October 2025, the analytical agency Janes reported that the number of Russian military units equipped with T-72B3, T-80BVM and T-90M tanks had increased compared with the prewar period, although the number of T-72B3 tanks themselves had somewhat decreased.

Could Russia be creating a reserve for troop deployment?

Another possible explanation is tied to the legacy of the Soviet mobilization system. It provided for the deployment of additional military formations in the event of mobilization. In particular, so-called cadre divisions had a limited personnel complement in peacetime, and the equipment to field them was stored at special bases.

If Russia is indeed systematically accumulating modern combat vehicles at such sites, this could be part of preparing a reserve for subsequent troop deployments. However, there is not yet enough data to claim that Moscow is recreating the Soviet model of cadre divisions or preparing them specifically for a possible attack on NATO countries.

To determine the true purpose of such accumulation, it is necessary to find out where the equipment is coming from, what condition it is in, and whether its movement is accompanied by the formation of new military units. Until that data is available, the reserve-creation hypothesis remains one of several possible explanations.

Recall that earlier the 24 Channel reported on Russia replenishing its stocks of armored vehicles and the possible reasons for this process.