US-supplied tanks are not enough in the “war of drones,” a Ukrainian soldier told CNN

• Last January, Ukraine lobbied hard to get tanks from the United States.

• However, Ukraine’s armored vehicles have not been of much tactical use.

• In a “war of drones,” tanks are the No. 1 target, a Ukrainian soldier told CNN.

In a war that relies heavily on drones, the tanks supplied by the US are proving not helpful enough for Ukrainian soldiers.

In January 2023, after months of intensive lobbying by Ukraine, the United States agreed to supply 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to equip a tank battalion.

Military experts had previously told Business Insider that the tanks’ capabilities were limited due to terrain conditions and the lack of tank-on-tank combat, the Abrams’ specialty.

More than a year after the US sent the tanks, at least eight of the armored vehicles were reported lost or damaged. According to US officials, Ukraine had to withdraw the tanks from the front.

Ukrainian state media denied the US report that the Abrams tanks had been completely withdrawn, but said soldiers were using them in limited cases.

A member of Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade, identified as “Joker,” told CNN’s chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh that the tanks alone would not be enough to protect the soldiers if Russia bombed them with drones.

“Its armor is not adequate for this time. It does not protect the crew,” Joker told CNN. “Seriously, today it’s a drone war. Now when the tank rolls out, they always try to hit it.”

One makeshift solution that the Ukrainian soldiers had to resort to was armor plates on the vehicle, according to the CNN report.

Joker added that the tank ammunition Ukraine received was only suitable for “direct tank-to-tank combat” and was not sufficient to destroy structures.

“One time we fired 17 shots at a house and it was still standing,” he said.

A Ukrainian government official said last year that Russia had a seven-fold advantage when it came to drones.

Read the original article on Business Insider