Russian forces pictured with the recently captured Abrams tank<\/p>\n
An image released on September 14 has confirmed claims from Russian sources that another Ukrainian Army M1A1 Abrams tank has been captured by the Russian Armed Forces during ongoing hostilities. The tank pictured is an up-armoured model integrating Soviet Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armour and other additional protective measures added domestically. The tank appears to have been disabled. The image\u2019s release comes less than a week after two prior images confirmed the losses<\/a> of two other M1A1 tanks in combat – the first tank near the village of Volchye in the Pokrovsk direction in the disputed Donbas region, and the second in the same region near the settlement of Berdychi. Around a week before these, footage confirmed serious damage to another Abrams tank, which was filmed\u00a0being captured<\/a>\u00a0and towed away by Russian forces near the\u00a0strategically located town<\/a>\u00a0of Avdiivka alongside a Leopard 2A6 tank.<\/p>\n Recent\u00a0 images indicate that the rate at which Ukrainian forces have been losing Abrams tanks has increased significantly. This follows a period of intensive losses from late February to mid-April, with tanks\u00a0first seen<\/a>\u00a0deployed on February 23, and the first loss confirmed<\/a>\u00a0three days afterwards. The vehicles were temporarily\u00a0withdrawn<\/a>\u00a0from the frontlines in April, after which their protection levels were increased. Over 20 of the 31 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine are now thought to have been destroyed, disabled or captured, with most kills captured on film being achieved by guided artillery<\/a> or by single use \u2018kamikaze\u2019 drones<\/a>, while one was confirmed to have been\u00a0achieved by a Russian T-72B3<\/a>\u00a0tank after the two exchanged fire. Western media outlets\u2019 interviews with Ukrainian personnel have highlighted their\u00a0dissatisfaction<\/a>\u00a0with the Abrams\u2019 performance, citing both technical issues such as vulnerability of electronic components to condensation, as well as their vulnerability to Russian fire. The sheer size of the vehicles has reportedly led them to attract particularly high quantities of fire, while their much larger profiles compared to Ukraine\u2019s Soviet built tanks such as T-80s<\/a> and T-64s make them easier to target.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n