Ciao, Abrams: Ukraine Sidelines US-Made M1A1 Tanks Due to Russian Drones

Russian forces have already destroyed five of the 31 American-made M1 Abrams tanks that the Pentagon sent to Ukraine last year as part of US military aid that Moscow has repeatedly warned would only prolong the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine has withdrawn US-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks from the front line because of attacks by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the AP news agency quoted American military sources as saying.

The proliferation of Russian surveillance and hunter-killer drones on the battlefield means "there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection," one of the sources said.

The insiders added that "Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult" for the Abrams tanks "to operate without detection or coming under attack."

For now, the tanks "have been moved from the front lines, and the US will work with the Ukrainians to reset tactics," Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady told reporters.

He earlier warned in an interview with AP that "When you think about the way the fight has evolved, massed armor in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous can be at risk."

"Now, there is a way to do it. We’ll work with our Ukrainian partners, and other partners on the ground, to help them think through how they might use that, in that kind of changed environment now, where everything is seen immediately," Grady added, in an apparent nod to Russian surveillance drones.

Over the past two months, Russian forces have destroyed at least five Abrams tanks in the special military operation zone, thanks in part to the work of combat drones, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Previously, the Pentagon delivered a total of 31 Abrams tanks to the Kiev regime as part of the US military aid.

The US and its NATO allies ramped up their military supplies to the Zelensky regime shortly after the beginning of the Russian special military operation. Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that such aid will not alter the course of the special military operation but will only exacerbate the Ukraine conflict.