Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over drone threats: NPR

WASHINGTON – Ukraine has shelved U.S.-supplied M1A1 Abrams battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without being detected or attacked, two said. US military officials told The Associated Press. .

The United States agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after a months-long aggressive campaign by kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million each, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines.

But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, particularly due to the ubiquitous use of surveillance drones and Russian hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it harder for Ukraine to protect tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or projectiles.

Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost due to Russian attacks.

The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means “there is no open terrain you can cross without fear of detection,” a senior defense official told reporters on Thursday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide an update on U.S. arms support to Ukraine ahead of Friday’s Ukrainian Defense Contact Group meeting.

US wants to work with Ukraine to reset tactics

For now, the tanks have been removed from the front and the United States will work with the Ukrainians to restore tactics, said Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady and a third defense official who confirmed the move on condition of anonymity.

“When you think about the way fighting has evolved, massive armor in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous can be at risk,” Grady told the AP in an interview this week, adding that tanks are still important.

“Now there’s a way to do it,” he said. “We will work with our Ukrainian partners and other partners on the ground to help them think about how they could use that, in that kind of changed environment now, where everything is seen immediately.”

News of the sidelined tanks comes as the United States marks the second anniversary of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries that meets monthly to assess Ukraine’s battlefield needs and identify where to find ammunition, weapons or maintenance necessary to keep Ukraine on the battlefield. equipped troops.

Recent aid packages, including the $1 billion military assistance package signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday, also reflect a broader reset by Ukrainian forces in the evolving fight.

The United States is expected to announce Friday that it will also provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much-sought-after munitions for Patriot air defense systems. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.

New US funding for anti-drone capabilities

The billion-dollar package emphasizes counter-drone capabilities, including .50 caliber rounds modified specifically to counter drone systems; additional air defenses and ammunition; and a number of alternative, cheaper vehicles, including Humvees, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles.

The United States also confirmed for the first time that it is providing long-range ballistic missiles known as ATACM, which allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian-occupied areas without having to advance and become more exposed to drone detection or fortified Russian defenses.

While drones are a major threat, the Ukrainians also have not adopted tactics that could have made tanks more effective, one of the US defense officials said.

After announcing it would provide Ukraine with Abrams tanks in January 2023, the United States that spring began training Ukrainians at the Grafenwoehr Army Base in Germany on how to maintain and operate them. They also taught the Ukrainians how to use them in combined arms warfare, where tanks operate as part of an advancing system of armored forces, coordinating movements with aerial offensive fires, infantry troops and air assets.

As spring progressed and Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive stalled, moving from tank training in Germany to bringing Abrams to the battlefield was seen as an imperative to breach fortified Russian lines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on his Telegram channel in September that the Abrams had arrived in Ukraine.

Since then, however, Ukraine has only employed them on a limited basis and has not included combined arms warfare in its operations, the defense official said.

During their recent withdrawal from Avdiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that was the focus of intense fighting for months, several tanks were lost to Russian attacks, the official said.

A long delay by Congress in approving new funds for Ukraine meant its forces had to ration ammunition and, in some cases, were only able to respond once for every five or more times they were attacked by Russian forces.

At Avdiivka, Ukrainian forces were severely outgunned and fighting Russian glide bombs and hunter-killer drones with what ammunition they had left.