Ukrainian forces dismiss AP report on Abrams tank withdrawal due to drone threats
The tanks "are performing excellently on the battlefield and we certainly have no intention of hiding from the enemy what usually makes them hide," Ukrainian forces wrote.
In a recent statement, the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has labeled as false an Associated Press report suggesting that Ukraine had withdrawn its American-supplied Abrams tanks from the frontline due to threats from Russian drones.
The brigade, through a post marked with “Fake,” refuted claims that these tanks had been repositioned away from the battlefields. The post included a screenshot of the AP news item with a clarification that contradicts the reported information. The tanks “are performing excellently on the battlefield and we certainly have no intention of hiding from the enemy what usually makes them hide. Especially, we wouldn’t leave our infantry without such powerful fire support,” the brigade stated in its communication.
The Ukrainian military did not disclose specific operational details but urged the public and media to rely only on verified information and to seek official comments from their press service before publishing such materials.
This denial comes after the Associated Press, citing US military officials, reported on April 26th that Ukrainian forces had temporarily pulled back the Abrams tanks due to vulnerabilities to drone attacks. Prior to this, The New York Times had reported that Russian forces had disabled 5 out of 31 Abrams tanks provided to Ukraine last autumn, suggesting that drones could effectively target these tanks.
