Russian 1st Guards Tank Army equipment spotted in Voronezh

Russia has deployed at least 60 tanks, supported by infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) from the Moscow area to Maslovka railway station south of the city of Voronezh and less than 250 km from the Ukrainian border.

During Russia's spring 2021 build-up on the Ukrainian border, Maslovka railway station was one of the main stations used by Central Military District (CMD) forces deploying from Siberia to the Voronezh region. This CMD equipment was stored at Pogonovo between spring and early October, when it began redeployment. By 27 October satellite imagery showed Pogonovo's vehicle stores to be totally empty and the CMD equipment stored there redeployed to a garrison in Yelnya, Smolensk, near the Belarusian border.

The new equipment seen at Maslovka is believed to belong to various 1st Guards Tank Army units, which have deployed nearly 500 km from their permanent bases in the Moscow area to the Voronezh region.

The equipment seen at Maslovka includes a battalion of T-80U main battle tanks (MBTs) belonging to the 4th Tank Division and a battalion of T-72B3 MBTs likely belonging to an additional 1st Guards Tank Army unit, possibly the 2nd Motorised Division or 6th Tank Brigade. In addition to the tanks, at least one company-sized element of 10 BMP-2 IFVs, four 2S19 SPHs, and various combat engineering vehicles were observed at the railway station.

The deployment of 1st Guards Tank Army equipment to Voronezh comes just a week after several sightings of the army's equipment were identified well outside of its normal area of operations in the Kursk and Bryansk regions. Janes does not believe the equipment seen in Maslovka is the same as that seen during these movements in Kursk and Bryansk.