Five US Abrams Tanks Sent to Ukraine Taken Out by Russian Forces in 2 Months – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Armed Forces have taken out five of the 31 US-made M1 Abrams tanks in the special military operation zone in the last two months, The New York Times has reported, citing a senior US official.

Another three tanks the United States sent to Ukraine have been moderately damaged since the beginning of this year, the newspaper reported on Saturday, citing an Austrian military trainer.

In February, Ukrainian media platform strana.ua reported that the Ukrainian armed forces had been using Abrams for over a month in the region of Avdeyevka, from where they later withdrew. On March 6, a commander of one of the Russian military units told Sputnik that the Russian forces destroyed a US-made Abrams for the first time in the Avdeyevka area during a tank battle.

In late September 2023, the White House confirmed that Abrams tanks had begun arriving in Ukraine. In total, the US administration vowed to give Kiev 31 Abrams tanks. However, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, said that these tanks "will not live very long on the battlefield" in an ordinary combined arms battle.