Ukraine said to be withdrawing US-supplied Abrams tanks from frontline as losses mount

Ukraine is reportedly withdrawing its American-supplied Abrams tanks from the frontline because so many are being lost to Russian drone attacks.

Around a sixth of all the Abrams tanks that have been supplied have already been destroyed, according to US media.

Forces News has taken a closer look at this reported withdrawal and what we know about the success of the vehicle.

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The US agreed to send 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January last year as the Ukrainians prepared for their forthcoming counter-offensive.

It was hoped the $10m main battle tanks would help Kyiv's forces punch through Russia's deep defences.

But the Associated Press is reporting that US officials say they have proved vulnerable to Russian hunter-killer drones.

The 67-tonne Abrams, with its fuel-guzzling gas turbine engine, has proven easy to detect on the battlefield, and five of the 31 have already been lost – most recently in the Ukrainian retreat from Avdiivka.

Anonymous US officials told AP the tank had been taken off the frontline while US advisors try to "reset" the Ukrainians' tactics.

Although Ukrainian forces have been trained in Nato-style combined arms warfare, they often do not use it, instead reverting to more costly Soviet-style assault tactics that put armour at greater risk. 

While the Ukrainians have lost some of their tanks, it is nothing compared to Russian losses.

An estimated 3,000 Russian tanks have been destroyed since the start of the war – the whole of its pre-war inventory.

Recently these have appeared as so-called 'turtle tanks', Russian T-72s covered in DIY armour with just the tip of their 125mm main guns poking out.

This modified tank is an indication of the lengths Russian tank crews are going to try to protect themselves from Ukrainian missiles and drones.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited a tank factory in southwestern Siberia where they produce T-80BVM main battle tanks as well as an armoured flamethrower system.

Footage has shown some of the protection Russia adds to its tanks and the T-80s rolling out with factory-fitted cages – a metal umbrella above their turrets to protect them from top-down attacks.

The T-80s also carry anti-drone jammers and reactive armour along the sides of the hull.

But as the Russians have found out, few of these things work.

British NLAW missiles for instance can penetrate side reactive armour, while the American Javelin anti-tank missile can break through these cages.

Moscow's forces and now Ukraine's own Abrams have found out the hard way just how dangerous the battlefield in Ukraine is for any tank.