The Ukrainian Army has lost a further M1A1 Abrams tank in combat with Russian forces, as confirmed by newly released drone footage, with the vehicle abandoned by its crew shortly after taking a hit. The tank was neutralised with a single shot from a 2K25 Krasnopol precision-guided artillery rounds, which is fired from Russian 152mm guns and uses fin-stabilization, base bleed-assistance, semi-automatic laser-guidance for high precision. Deployed from self propelled guns such as the 2S3 Akatsiya and 2S19 Msta-S, the rounds were developed from the 1980s to facilitate engagements against targets such as enemy artillery guns and tanks, and have seen their capabilities improved considerably since entering service in 1986. Russian forces have neutralised Abrams tanks using a range of assets, with prior footage released on March 6 during a period of higher intensity combat showing one of the vehicles being destroyed by a Russian Army tank – a T-72B3 – which is a heavily upgraded Soviet built vehicle integrating the new 2A46M-5 125mm smoothbore gun and 21st century munition types and fire controls.
The Ukrainian Army in late April withdrew its Abrams tanks from frontline positions due to concerns regarding their vulnerability to Russian strikes. A U.S. military source cited by the AP news agency observed that due to advances in Russian targeting capabilities “there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection,” with another source noting that “Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult” for Abrams tanks “to operate without detection or coming under attack.” Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Christopher Grady provided further details on the Ukrainian Army’s decision, informing AP: “When you think about the way the fight has evolved, massed armour in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous can be at risk.” Abrams tanks were first confirmed to have been deployed for combat by drone footage released on February 23, which was followed three days later by the confirmed destruction of the first tank. Alongside heavy losses, one Abrams tank and one M1150 ABV Assault Breacher Vehicle, closely based on the Abrams chassis are confirmed to have been captured by Russian forces.