Ukraine Situation Report: This May Be Our First Image Of An M1 Abrams In-Country
Howard Altman, Thomas Newdick
12 minutes ago
Ukraine Situation Report: This May Be Our First Image Of An M1 Abrams In-Country
What could very well be the first image of an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank in Ukraine surfaced on social media today, three weeks after U.S. officials confirmed all 31 donated to Kyiv had arrived in-country. The photo is being referenced as the first glimpse of the M1 in-country, although where exactly it was taken and under what circumstances remain unclear.
The photo shows the front of the tank’s hull and the turret rear bustle rack — a metal cage for storing extra gear and supplies. That means the 120mm main gun is pointing rearward.
That’s a strong indicator that the tank is not in a battle position, according to a U.S. armor expert who analyzed the photo for us.
“If it was in a battle position, the hull and turret would face forward to be able to drive up and engage targets,” said the expert, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.
The photo also shows the tank in what appears to be a dug in position, with high mud walls and, below that, a cut-out for the tracks.
“I think that they dug a very deep position that is very similar to a ‘hide’ position just to keep it out of direct line of sight of any reconnaissance,” said the expert. “That’s because the M1 Abrams is a such a prize target for the Russians to destroy, it would be a huge propaganda win if they’re able to target it and the Ukrainians know it.”
In addition to showing a portion of the tank itself, the photo also shows a Ukrainian soldier holding a belt buckle very similar to the “steel fist” insignia of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Rapid Response Brigade in his left hand. That unit has fought near Bakhmut, according to the unit’s Facebook page. Neither the unit’s Facebook nor Instagram pages show images of an Abrams tank though.
We reached out to the unit on Facebook and Instagram and will update this story if it responds.
In this Abrams tank photo, a soldier is seen displaying a belt buckle with the Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine’s “steel fist” emblem. (Via twitter)
The official patch of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Rapid Response Brigade. (Rapid Response Brigade photo)
The long-awaited Abrams is one of the best tanks in the world.
“The Abrams is an amazing main battle tank that can take a beating, either from enemy fire or mother nature, and keep going,” Erik Albertson, a retired U.S. Army senior non-commissioned officer, told us in January when news first broke of the Biden administration approving delivery to Ukraine. Albertson served as a tanker in all positions on the M1A1 and early versions of the M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams main battle tank. You can read more about what it will bring to the battlefield for Ukraine here.
Whether the M1s have been used in either Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive or its defense of Russian advances around Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast or anywhere else is unknown. However, no images have yet emerged on social media of an Abrams in battle. Nor have any images been seen of any Abrams damaged or destroyed, something that the Russian Defense Ministry and milbloggers would have instantly jumped on had that happened.
With the counteroffensve largely a stalemate with worsening winter weather conditions setting in, it remains to be seen when and if we will see the Abrams on the front lines any time soon
At least one image of a cousin of the M1 in Ukraine has been confirmed, however.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a ceremony where a M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) – which uses the M1’s chassis – was seen. You can read more about that in our story here and see an image of it below.
Before getting into the rest of the latest news from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can get caught up with our previous rolling coverage here.
The Latest
Russian forces conducted several “unsuccessful” attacks across the front lines in the south and east of Ukraine last week, officials in Kyiv say. The official Ukrainian account talks of 400 individual “combat clashes” in the last seven days, during which Russia has maintained its offensive directed against the town of Avdiivka, in the eastern region of Donetsk. So far, Russian attempts to surround and take that town have failed.
“The enemy is conducting assault actions in several directions at once,” Andriy Kovalyov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told state TV today, AFP reports.
Kovalyov added that Russian attacks had occurred near the village of Robotyne, which Ukraine retook control of earlier this year, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. “The enemy attempted to restore its lost position near Robotyne but had no success,” he said.
For Ukraine’s part, Kovalyov said that its forces are continuing their own “offensive operations” to the south of Bakhmut. This city was captured by Russia in May, after months of fighting, including relentless artillery fire that left it almost totally destroyed.
Russia confirmed Ukrainian attacks near Robotyne, but its defense ministry said that these were repelled.
While these claims cannot be independently verified, taken together, they do point toward what we know of the current situation on the ground. Namely, neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to make significant territorial gains for months, leaving a stalemate-like situation across many parts of the front line. That hasn’t stopped the bloodshed. Fighting remains intense, with both sides continuing to take heavy losses.
Current reports from Ukraine claim that Russian casualties now stand at more than 305,000 dead or injured, while the U.S. government estimated back in August that there had been 120,000 Russian deaths and 180,000 injured since the full-scale invasion began. These remain the most recent available U.S. figures.
The next tweet goes some way toward explaining the kinds of bitter trench warfare that now characterize much of the fighting in the east and south of Ukraine. The familiar first-person-view (FPV) drones that have already wrought considerable havoc on the battlefield are being used by Russian forces to target Ukrainian machine-gunners in the first line of trenches before more waves of attack drones hit successively deeper trenches to protect the Russian infantry as it advances.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valeri Zaluzhny announced that one of his top aides was killed when a birthday gift exploded Monday while he was gathered with family.
“Unspeakable pain and heavy loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for me personally,” Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram Monday. “Today, under tragic circumstances, on his birthday, my assistant and close friend, Major Gennadiy Chastyakov, died in the family circle. An unknown explosive device went off in one of the gifts. Gennady is survived by his wife and four children. My deepest condolences to the family.”
Zaluzhny said an investigation is ongoing.
“The reasons and circumstances will be established during the pre-trial investigation,” he said.
Howard Altman, Thomas Newdick
12 minutes ago
Ukraine Situation Report: This May Be Our First Image Of An M1 Abrams In-Country
What could very well be the first image of an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank in Ukraine surfaced on social media today, three weeks after U.S. officials confirmed all 31 donated to Kyiv had arrived in-country. The photo is being referenced as the first glimpse of the M1 in-country, although where exactly it was taken and under what circumstances remain unclear.
The photo shows the front of the tank’s hull and the turret rear bustle rack — a metal cage for storing extra gear and supplies. That means the 120mm main gun is pointing rearward.
That’s a strong indicator that the tank is not in a battle position, according to a U.S. armor expert who analyzed the photo for us.
“If it was in a battle position, the hull and turret would face forward to be able to drive up and engage targets,” said the expert, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.
The photo also shows the tank in what appears to be a dug in position, with high mud walls and, below that, a cut-out for the tracks.
“I think that they dug a very deep position that is very similar to a ‘hide’ position just to keep it out of direct line of sight of any reconnaissance,” said the expert. “That’s because the M1 Abrams is a such a prize target for the Russians to destroy, it would be a huge propaganda win if they’re able to target it and the Ukrainians know it.”
In addition to showing a portion of the tank itself, the photo also shows a Ukrainian soldier holding a belt buckle very similar to the “steel fist” insignia of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Rapid Response Brigade in his left hand. That unit has fought near Bakhmut, according to the unit’s Facebook page. Neither the unit’s Facebook nor Instagram pages show images of an Abrams tank though.
We reached out to the unit on Facebook and Instagram and will update this story if it responds.
In this Abrams tank photo, a soldier is seen displaying a belt buckle with the Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine’s “steel fist” emblem. (Via twitter)
The official patch of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Rapid Response Brigade. (Rapid Response Brigade photo)
The long-awaited Abrams is one of the best tanks in the world.
“The Abrams is an amazing main battle tank that can take a beating, either from enemy fire or mother nature, and keep going,” Erik Albertson, a retired U.S. Army senior non-commissioned officer, told us in January when news first broke of the Biden administration approving delivery to Ukraine. Albertson served as a tanker in all positions on the M1A1 and early versions of the M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams main battle tank. You can read more about what it will bring to the battlefield for Ukraine here.
Whether the M1s have been used in either Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive or its defense of Russian advances around Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast or anywhere else is unknown. However, no images have yet emerged on social media of an Abrams in battle. Nor have any images been seen of any Abrams damaged or destroyed, something that the Russian Defense Ministry and milbloggers would have instantly jumped on had that happened.
With the counteroffensve largely a stalemate with worsening winter weather conditions setting in, it remains to be seen when and if we will see the Abrams on the front lines any time soon
At least one image of a cousin of the M1 in Ukraine has been confirmed, however.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a ceremony where a M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) – which uses the M1’s chassis – was seen. You can read more about that in our story here and see an image of it below.
Before getting into the rest of the latest news from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can get caught up with our previous rolling coverage here.
The Latest
Russian forces conducted several “unsuccessful” attacks across the front lines in the south and east of Ukraine last week, officials in Kyiv say. The official Ukrainian account talks of 400 individual “combat clashes” in the last seven days, during which Russia has maintained its offensive directed against the town of Avdiivka, in the eastern region of Donetsk. So far, Russian attempts to surround and take that town have failed.
“The enemy is conducting assault actions in several directions at once,” Andriy Kovalyov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told state TV today, AFP reports.
Kovalyov added that Russian attacks had occurred near the village of Robotyne, which Ukraine retook control of earlier this year, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. “The enemy attempted to restore its lost position near Robotyne but had no success,” he said.
For Ukraine’s part, Kovalyov said that its forces are continuing their own “offensive operations” to the south of Bakhmut. This city was captured by Russia in May, after months of fighting, including relentless artillery fire that left it almost totally destroyed.
Russia confirmed Ukrainian attacks near Robotyne, but its defense ministry said that these were repelled.
While these claims cannot be independently verified, taken together, they do point toward what we know of the current situation on the ground. Namely, neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to make significant territorial gains for months, leaving a stalemate-like situation across many parts of the front line. That hasn’t stopped the bloodshed. Fighting remains intense, with both sides continuing to take heavy losses.
Current reports from Ukraine claim that Russian casualties now stand at more than 305,000 dead or injured, while the U.S. government estimated back in August that there had been 120,000 Russian deaths and 180,000 injured since the full-scale invasion began. These remain the most recent available U.S. figures.
The next tweet goes some way toward explaining the kinds of bitter trench warfare that now characterize much of the fighting in the east and south of Ukraine. The familiar first-person-view (FPV) drones that have already wrought considerable havoc on the battlefield are being used by Russian forces to target Ukrainian machine-gunners in the first line of trenches before more waves of attack drones hit successively deeper trenches to protect the Russian infantry as it advances.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valeri Zaluzhny announced that one of his top aides was killed when a birthday gift exploded Monday while he was gathered with family.
“Unspeakable pain and heavy loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for me personally,” Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram Monday. “Today, under tragic circumstances, on his birthday, my assistant and close friend, Major Gennadiy Chastyakov, died in the family circle. An unknown explosive device went off in one of the gifts. Gennady is survived by his wife and four children. My deepest condolences to the family.”
Zaluzhny said an investigation is ongoing.
“The reasons and circumstances will be established during the pre-trial investigation,” he said.
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Summary
Ukraine Situation Report: Possible First Image of M1 Abrams Tank in Country. Photo suggests tank not in battle position, possibly dug in for concealment due to high value target status. The image was shared on social media three weeks after the arrival of 31 donated M1 Abrams tanks from the US.