Ukrainian Army turns 5,000 Russian military vehicles into scrap - Forbes

The Ukrainian military has turned 5,000 Russian military vehicles into a pile of scrap metal within the seven weeks of the war (as of April 8). This mass could be used to rebuild the country's infrastructure, but this equipment must first be disposed of properly.

This is stated by Forbes, Ukrinform reports.

“The 85,000 tonnes of scrap metal includes about 75,000 tonnes of carbon and stainless steel, 2,500 tonnes of aluminum, 1,000 tonnes of copper, more than 360 tonnes of titanium and magnesium, as well as 10 kg of platinum, 18 kg of gold, and 1.2 tonnes of silver,” the journalists estimated.

The article stated that Ukraine accumulated 4.1 million tonnes of scrap metal in 2021. Ukrainian metallurgical plants used 80% of this amount for steel production.

If the country disposes of all military equipment and sells metals, it can get about USD45 million, including $31 million for ferrous metals, $8 million for copper, $4 million for aluminum, $1 million for other non-ferrous metals, and $1 million for precious metals.

The process of recycling military scrap has its own specifics, i.e. its disposal is a more complex and time-consuming process that requires control by the state.

As Ukrinform reported, Russian troops lost 19,600 military personnel, 157 warplanes, 732 tanks, 1,946 armored combat vehicles and other military equipment from February 24 to April 12.