A Ukrainian tank crew says the Abrams is still used on the front lines, but they don’t find “tank-on-tank” combat where it has the advantage.

• A Ukrainian tank crew told state media that it still uses the Abrams tank on the front line.

• The report comes after the Pentagon said Ukraine withdrew its Abrams tanks due to fears of drone attacks.

• A Ukrainian Abrams commander told military television that the tanks had not been withdrawn but were being used on an ad hoc basis.

A Ukrainian tank crew says the U.S.-supplied Abrams is still viable on the front line, but the tank-on-tank combat it excels at has been rare.

In late April, Pentagon officials told The Associated Press that Ukraine was withdrawing its Abrams tanks from the most intense combat zones because Russian drones were making it more difficult to defend them.

But Ukrainian state media now rejects that assessment, quoting the crew’s commander as saying kyiv had not completely removed the heavy armor.

“It all depends on the situation. You see, we don’t fight purely tank-to-tank,” the man, identified as Dmytro, from the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, told Ukrainian military news channel Army TV. . The outlet is managed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

“If it was tank against tank, there would be no questions. The T-72 would not even be next to it,” Dmytro said.

Dmytro added that battlefield conditions have become “very difficult” due to Russia’s advantage on the ground in terms of personnel and equipment.

“So we need to adjust our actions. These tanks are designed primarily for direct contact. Go out and destroy enemy vehicles,” Dmytro added.

Military television posted a video of Dmytro and his crew online on Tuesday. It was titled and subtitled in English, a departure from the YouTube channel’s usual coverage in Ukrainian.

“WHERE IS UKRAINIAN ABRAMS: How the legendary American tank fights at the front,” reads the title. Excerpts from the video showed the tank crew piloting an Abrams M1A1 at an undisclosed location.

Dmytro said his team had, in recent days, deployed its Abrams to eliminate Russian infantry and equipment, including a T-62 tank that was disabled by a drone blast. It was not immediately clear when the video was filmed.

The Pentagon press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours by Business Insider.

The Army TV video praised the American battle tank, a highly sought-after ground asset for kyiv, with a gunner named Koka and a driver named Alexey complimenting its maneuverability and internal systems.

The Abrams is touted as an effective tool against Soviet armor, with a history of victories against Russian-made vehicles, but it has also faced challenges in Ukraine.

In late April, an anonymous defense official told the AP that Ukraine was not deploying the Abrams in a combined arms war, although its crews were trained for such scenarios.

At least five Abrams tanks are believed to have been lost in combat, with three others damaged.

The United States promised in January 2023 to deliver 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which received its first batch in September of that year as part of the first rounds of aid provided by the Biden administration.

A new tranche of supplies and weapons, which Ukraine says it desperately needs to defend its positions against Russia, has been withheld for months due to political infighting on Capitol Hill. Congress finally passed a $61 billion program for Ukraine.

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