Russia Has Intensified the Recommissioning of Infantry Fighting Vehicles at the 111th Tank Reserve Base

Russian troops have intensified the recommissioning of armored personnel carriers at the 111th Central Tank Reserve Base in the Kostroma region.

A new satellite image was published by military analyst Jompy, showing significant changes to the facility’s territory.

The image shows that infantry fighting vehicles are being actively removed from the base.

They are either being sent for restoration or dismantled for use as repairs parts in other units.

Due to years of open-air storage, some of the vehicles are in critical condition. Corroded hulls, damaged instruments, engines, and control systems significantly reduce the combat capability of the vehicles.

The 111th Central Tank Reserve Base (military unit 42857) is one of the key storage sites for the Russian Armed Forces’ armored vehicles.

The facility is located near the town of Bui in the Kostroma region and is subordinated to the Central Military District.

The base is of strategic importance, as it is here that most of the Russian army’s armored vehicles are concentrated, which it is actively preparing to send to the front.

As of 2022, the base had 307 relatively combat-ready tanks, 61 of which were stored in dry air. Another 561 units were placed in reserve, and 207 tanks were being prepared for disposal. In total, there are 1,075 tanks and 360 tank bays in hangars.

Analysts, including the Conflict Intelligence Team, Oryx, and OSINT researchers, have recorded a sharp decline in the number of vehicles in open parking lots since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In 2021, there were more than 800 tanks on the base. In 2023, there were only a few hundred left, many of which were not suitable for use. By mid-2024, some of the equipment had been removed or dismantled for spare parts.

The intensification of work at the 111th base suggests Russia’s efforts to compensate for the significant losses of armored vehicles on the front by utilizing older stocks, despite their deteriorating technical condition.