WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Soldiers in Ukraine say US-supplied tanks have made them targets for Russian strikes
Ukrainian crews working on US-supplied Abrams tanks have told CNN of a series of the weaknesses and flaws with the armored vehicles, calling into doubt their utility on the war’s ever-changing frontlines. The donation was announced by US President Joe Biden as evidence of the United States’ “enduring and unflagging commitment to Ukraine.”
CNN journalists were the first reporters to see the M1 Abrams in Ukraine, at a location in the country’s east, where around six vehicles were visible, hiding in the foliage.
Crews trained in Germany said the vehicles – the US military’s main $10 million battle tank used in Iraq against Saddam Hussein’s forces and insurgents – lacked armor that could stop modern weapons.
“Its armor is not sufficient for this moment,” said one crew member, callsign Joker. “It doesn’t protect the crew. For real, today this is the war of drones. So now, when the tank rolls out, they always try to hit them.”
His colleague, Dnipro, added they are the “number one target.”
“Without defense, the crew doesn’t survive at the battlefield,” he said.
The crew showed CNN their attempts to affix active armor to one damaged tank. They used plates of plastic explosive that, when hit by a round, detonate and provide a protective counter-blast.
All 31 Abrams deployed to Ukraine are engaged near the frontline in the east, according to officials in the 47th Mechanised Brigade, who took receipt of them all. The Ukrainian request for Abrams, complex and heavy tanks, sparked significant debate in early 2023, as the American vehicle has a complex supply chain. Some versions even run on jet fuel.
Pentagon officials said in April that the Abrams were pulled back from the frontline due to the threat of Russian attack drones, although the 47th said some were still in action, despite the deficiencies that had materialized.
Much of the Ukrainian frontline is now dominated by the use of self-destructing attack drones, tiny and accurate devices that can swarm infantry and even cause significant damage to tanks. The advent of these so called First-Person Vision (FPV) drones, flown by soldiers wearing gaming goggles, has changed the nature of the war, limiting movement and introducing a new element of vulnerability to armored vehicles.
This Ukrainian crew have learned of the Abrams’ limitations the hard way, in pitched battles around the town of Avdiivka, which Russia finally took control of in February. A driver lost a leg when the armor was penetrated. Yet it is not just innovation that is hamstringing the tanks — they appear to have technical issues too.
One, parked under a tree, was almost immobile during CNN’s visit, due to an engine problem, the crew say, despite the vehicle having just been shipped in from Poland. They also complain of how, in rain or fog, condensation can fry the electronics inside the vehicle.
Ammunition is also a problem, like elsewhere on the Ukrainian frontline. They say they seem to have the wrong type for the fight they are in.
“What we have is more for direct tank-to-tank fights, which happens very rarely,” Joker said. “Much more often we work as artillery. You need to take apart a tree-line or a building. We had a case when we fired 17 rounds into a house and it was still standing.”
The Ukrainian crew expressed frustration the tanks were made for a NATO style of warfare, in which air power and artillery prepare the battlefield before tanks and infantry advance. Kyiv has long bemoaned its lack of artillery and air power.
“They would never do it,” Joker said, of NATO soldiers undertaking the same advances they make without air support. He switched to English to mimic a NATO soldier: “‘Call the aviation, call the artillery,’” he said. “We have no aviation and artillery. We have only tank. And it’s the problem.”
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian defense ministry told CNN that “Ukraine is now testing and improving equipment that was not initially prepared for our war.”
“We are asking all countries to support us with equipment of any technical capacity levels. We use all of it accordingly,” the spokesperson added.
Biden’s decision to supply the Abrams came after European allies pledged to send their own battle tanks in early 2023 ahead of Ukraine’s failed summer counteroffensive last year, a step that had been deemed unthinkable months earlier.
Kyiv’s allies have slowly swallowed the red lines of what equipment they once refused to supply. F-16s may arrive in Ukraine in the months ahead. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s military commander, on Monday said he had signed initial paperwork to permit France to send military trainers into the country to try and reverse an urgent manpower problem on the frontlines. France’s defense ministry declined to confirm the plan, but said it, and other ideas, had long been under discussion. The move would mark a significant escalation in the West’s involvement in the war, now in its third year.
The Ukrainian defense ministry later appeared to tamp down those expectations, saying in a statement to CNN that it had “started internal paperwork to move forward when the decision is taken.”
For the Abrams crew, each delay in equipment or assistance costs the lives of friends. “I only have one question,” Joker said of US assistance. “Why is this taking so long and (comes) partially? We are losing time. It’s death to us.”
** France and Germany say Ukraine should be able to use their weapons to strike inside Russia
France and Germany said Tuesday that Ukraine should be allowed to use their weapons against targets inside Russia from which Moscow attacks Ukraine.
Speaking at a news conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron outlined that French weapons sent to Ukraine, including long-range missiles, were permitted to target bases inside Russia.
“Ukrainian soil is being attacked from bases in Russia,” Macron said during his visit to Schloss Meseberg in Brandenburg, Germany. “So how do we explain to the Ukrainians that we’re going to have to protect these towns and basically everything we’re seeing around Kharkiv at the moment, if we tell them you are not allowed to hit the point from which the missiles are fired?”
“We think that we should allow them to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are fired and, basically, the military sites from which Ukraine is attacked,” Macron continued.
Macron added, however, that “we must not allow them to hit other targets in Russia,” including civilian or other military targets.
Germany’s Scholz echoed Macron’s comments and said that Ukraine was allowed to defend itself as long as it respected the conditions given by the countries that supplied the weapons - including the United States - and international law.
“Ukraine has every possibility under international law for what it is doing. That has to be said explicitly,” Scholz said. “I find it strange when some people argue that it should not be allowed to defend itself and take measures that are suitable for this.”
Western allies of Ukraine have long held the policy that donated weapons should be strictly limited to usage inside Ukrainian territory. The issue is a controversial one, with fears from Western leaders that if their weaponry is used to strike inside Russia, it would escalate the violence and trigger a wider war involving NATO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked permission from his allies to expand the usage of the provided weapons to strike inside Russia.
The United States, the largest arms supplier to Ukraine, has previously forbidden Kyiv from firing its weapons inside Russian territory over escalation concerns.
However, in comments that appeared to hint at the possibility of a change in policy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the US would continue to “adapt and adjust” its support for Ukraine.
“Another hallmark of our support for Ukraine over the last two years has been to adapt as the conditions have changed. Battlefields change. As what Russia does has changed in terms of how it is pursuing its aggression escalation, we’ve adapted and adjusted too. And I am confident we will continue to do that,” he said when asked about the possibility of allowing Ukraine to strike Russian soil.
But Blinken also reiterated that at present the US has not enabled Ukraine to strike beyond its borders into Russia with US weaponry.
“We haven’t encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine. Ukraine, as I’ve said before, has to make its own decisions about the best way to effectively defend itself. We’re going to make sure that it has the equipment that it needs to do that,” Blinken said.
When pressed on his remarks about adjusting and adapting, he added, “We’re always listening. We’re always learning, and we’re always making determinations about what’s necessary to make sure that Ukraine can effectively continue to defend itself.”
Shift in red lines?
Previous red lines drawn by Western leaders in their support for Ukraine have been crossed, including the provision of tanks, which was agreed in early 2023 to help Ukraine breach enemy defensive lines, and F-16 fighter jets, which European governments agreed to in the summer of 2023 after months of diplomatic pressure.
France has supplied Ukraine with an unknown number of SCALP cruise missiles, according to the French Defense Ministry’s website.
The SCALP missiles have a range of up to 155 kilometers (96 miles) and carry a 400-kilogram (881-pound) high-explosive penetration warhead, according to the Missile Threat project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The SCALP is the equivalent of Britain’s Storm Shadow, which has also been given to Ukraine, and which British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said earlier this month could be used at Kyiv’s discretion.
“In terms of what the Ukrainians do, in our view it is their decision about how to use these weapons, they are defending their country, they were illegally invaded by Putin and they must take those steps,” Cameron said during a visit to Kyiv. “We don’t discuss any caveats that we put on those things. But let’s be absolutely clear: Russia has launched an attack into Ukraine, and Ukraine absolutely has the right to strike back at Russia.”
France has also supplied Ukraine with a range of military weaponry, including Caesar self-propelled howitzers with a range of up to 42 kilometers.
Macron stressed that the French arms are to be used only against targets from which attacks are launched into Ukraine.
“We must not allow them to hit other targets in Russia,” including civilian or other military targets, the French leader said.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Ukraine could not use the long-range weapons without significant NATO support, and such involvement by the alliance could trigger “a global conflict.”
For instance, “long-range precision weapons cannot be used without space-based reconnaissance,” Putin said Tuesday during a state visit to Uzbekistan.
“Final target selection” or “launch mission” for Western systems need to be made by “highly skilled specialists who rely on this reconnaissance data,” Putin said.
“So, these officials from NATO countries, especially the ones based in Europe, particularly in small European countries, should be fully aware of what is at stake,” he emphasized.
“They should keep in mind that theirs are small and densely populated countries, which is a factor to reckon with before they start talking about striking deep into the Russian territory.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine got a key pledge of support on Tuesday from Belgium, which said it will supply Kyiv with 30 F-16 fighter jets in the next four years, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The deal was part of a bilateral security agreement signed between the two countries Tuesday in Brussels, according to the Ukrainian leader.
The agreement includes at least $1.06 billion in Belgian military aid to Ukraine this year, with Belgium offering its long-term commitment to support Ukraine over the next 10 years, Zelensky detailed in a post on X. The first F-16 jets from Belgium will be delivered this year.
“The agreement guarantees Belgium’s timely security assistance, modern armored vehicles, equipment to meet Ukraine’s air force and air defense needs, naval security, mine clearance, participation in the artillery ammunition coalition, and military training,” Zelensky said.
The meeting follows a similar agreement between Ukraine and Spain on Monday, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announcing a $1.08 billion weapons deal for Ukraine.
Alongside Belgium and Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Canada have also signed security agreements.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian troops destroy first French-made TRF1 howitzer in Ukraine operation
Russian troops destroyed the first French-made TRF1 towed howitzer of the Ukrainian army over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
Russia’s Battlegroup West units gained better ground and inflicted casualties on six Ukrainian army and National Guard brigades in the Kupyansk area where the enemy lost roughly 400 troops over the past day, it specified.
In addition, "the Ukrainian army lost two tanks, 11 motor vehicles, a Polish-manufactured 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, a French-made 155mm TRF1 howitzer and two US-made 105mm M119 guns," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian army loses 165 troops in Kharkov area over past day
The Ukrainian army lost roughly 165 troops and two combat vehicles in battles with Russian forces in the Kharkov area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Battlegroup North units continued advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and inflicted casualties on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 82nd air assault, 3rd tank and 125th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Liptsy, Volchansk, Vilcha, Neskuchnoye and Malaya Danilovka in the Kharkov Region. In addition, they repulsed four counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 57th motorized infantry, 71st jaeger and 13th National Guard brigades," the ministry said.
The Ukrainian army’s losses in the Kharkov direction over the past 24 hours amounted to 165 personnel, two infantry fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, a US-manufactured 155mm Paladin self-propelled artillery gun and two Bukovel-AD electronic warfare stations, it specified.
Russian forces also destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot, it said.
Russian troops strike six Ukrainian army brigades in Kupyansk area over past day
Russian troops advanced to better positions and inflicted casualties on six Ukrainian army brigades in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Battlegroup West units took more advantageous positions and inflicted damage on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 14th, 30th, 77th and 116th mechanized, 13th and 31st National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region, Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Grigorovka and Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 43rd mechanized brigade and 3rd border guard squad. The Ukrainian army lost as many as 400 personnel," the ministry said.
Ukrainian army loses 245 troops in Donetsk area over past day
The Ukrainian army lost roughly 245 troops and six ammunition depots in battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"The enemy lost as many as 245 personnel, two tanks, two motor vehicles, a 152mm Giatsint gun and a 122mm D-30 howitzer. Over the past 24 hours, six ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army were destroyed," the ministry said.
Kiev loses 125 troops in south Donetsk area over past day
The Ukrainian army lost roughly 125 troops in battles with Russian forces in the south Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"The enemy’s losses amounted to 125 personnel, a tank, two armored combat vehicles and six motor vehicles," the ministry said.
CNN/Tass