During an exchange with an Associated Press correspondent, two high-ranking US military officers disclosed that Ukraine has temporarily “pulle

Ukraine war update: M1 tanks withdrawn, they’re not a strategic fit

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2024-04-27 21:00:05

During an exchange with an Associated Press correspondent, two high-ranking US military officers disclosed that Ukraine has temporarily “pulled back on the use of Abrams tanks.” They explained that the American-backed combat units had suspended their participation in hostilities and were now stationed away from the front lines. This shift in strategy is primarily due to the surveillance prowess and destructive capacity of Russian reconnaissance and ‘kamikaze’ drones.

In the background details provided by BulgarianMilitary.com, it is worthwhile to note that Washington ratified an agreement in early 2023 to ship M1A1 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces. As the year 2023 trailed into the onset of 2024, it was confirmed that these stout war machines were effectively in Ukrainian hands. However, within just a few weeks of their deployment in the late winter and early spring, five Abrams tanks fell prey to the Russian army’s onslaught. Some Russian sources have claimed the destruction of a sixth tank, but the evidence to substantiate this claim is yet to be presented.

Let’s put things into perspective. The Abrams carries a hefty price tag of around $10 million each, while Russian ‘kamikaze’ drones range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, even surpass $100,000. As BulgarianMilitary.com speculated back in 2023, Western (and Russian) tanks struggle to evade detection because they are easily spotted by reconnaissance drones. Once a tank is in sight, it becomes easy pickings for these combat drones—like the Russian Lancet, for example. Given the terrain and conditions in Ukraine, it seems the Abrams is strategically unsuitable for the current warfare.