As intense fighting continues to rage in parts of eastern Ukraine, Russian social media has been abuzz with claims of the destruction of a US M1 Abrams tank near Soledar. However, these claims were received by netizens with humor, since Ukraine still does not have an Abrams tank in its arsenal.
The National Security and Defense Council’s Counter-Disinformation Center said in a Telegram post, “Enemy sources claim that Russian Armed Forces military personnel destroyed the first US M1 Abrams tank near Soledar with a conventional RPG-18 Mukha [“Fly”]not less.
“This is primitive fake Russian propaganda with an old photo that was not taken in Ukraine. The occupiers are not bothered by the fact that the US has not yet delivered a single such tank to Ukraine.
As seen in the image below, green trees can be seen in the background of the reservoir, indicating that the photo was taken in spring or summer. The war-torn country of Ukraine is currently covered in snow, further proving that the image is not from Ukraine and indeed not recent.
After news of Russian claims went viral on social media, a Twitter user wrote: “I especially like the green leaves on the trees in January.”
#Russian propagandists report the destruction of an M1 Abrams tank.
However, these tanks were never delivered to #Ukraine️. pic.twitter.com/OnQYE5qRGV
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 21, 2023
Some Twitter accounts immediately started digging and said the image was actually from 2010. However, EurAsian Times could not independently verify where the image was originally taken.
This is not the first time netizens have made a claim that has been mocked by Ukrainian officials, military observers, and netizens alike. Earlier this month, netizens claimed that four US Bradley fighting vehicles were destroyed in Ukraine, which did not arrive in the country.
The first Bradleys have not yet managed to arrive in Ukraine, but this does not prevent the Ministry of Defense of Russia from stating that 4 Bradleys have already been destroyed. Which means the total number of Bradleys in service in Ukraine is now minus 4. pic.twitter.com/mcyDP1XumY
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) January 12, 2023
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a press briefing that Ukraine had lost four Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFVs) during the hostilities. “During the battle in this direction, the enemy (Ukraine) lost 11 tanks, 17 infantry fighting vehicles (IPVs), including four US-made Bradleys,” Konashenkov said.
At the time, Konashenkov not only became the object of ridicule for claims that were far from the truth, but also for what became known as “poorly researched” propaganda.
Just over a week later, Russian netizens drew the same mockery by claiming to have destroyed an Abrams tank.
That is why the Abrams tank does not want to go to Ukraine. He doesn’t like winter. pic.twitter.com/v5chFYotNa
— Avia.Pro – News, Events, Media (@avia_pro) January 21, 2023
Meanwhile, an American Abrams tank could be seen struggling in the snow in a completely separate video that also went viral on social media. A Twitter user wrote: “The US Armed Forces M1 Abrams main tank was unsuitable for winter use. Although the heavy fighting machine has great power, only a few centimeters of snow can stop the armored vehicles.
These tanks were recently spotted being transported through Germany according to open source intelligence. Military analysts and observers said they could either be headed to Poland to replenish their stockpiles, or they may have been destined for Ukraine. There has been no confirmation on the matter from Berlin or Washington.
Without Abrams for Ukraine… For now!
The United States and some of its European partners recently announced significant shipments of new weapons to Ukraine, including armored vehicles and heavy weaponry.
The U.S. estimated the value of the military aid package at about $2.5 billion, which includes armored personnel carriers, air defense systems and thousands of rockets and artillery shells.
File image: US ABRAMS tanks
According to a statement released by the US Department of Defense, there will be 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers and 59 Bradley fighting vehicles.
However, despite promising a whopping $2.5 billion in aid, Washington again failed to announce the M1 Abram tanks that Ukraine lobbied for. Senior Pentagon policy adviser Colin Kahl said the Pentagon is not yet ready to respond to Kyiv’s calls for gas-guzzling M1 Abrams main battle tanks.
“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” said Cal, who had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. “The Abrams tank is a very complex piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train. It has a jet engine.
While Ukraine has been pleading with NATO to send advanced battle tanks for a long time, those pleas became louder after Britain announced it was ready to send Challenger-2 tanks to Kyiv.
There is increasing pressure on Germany to arm the besieged country with Leopard-2 tanks, or at the very least to allow their transfer from third countries.
However, Germany appears to have based its decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine if the US decides to send Abrams to Kyiv. A Bundeswehr source said that if the United States agreed to send its tanks, Germany would allow tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help defend against Russia.
Against this background, Russia’s claim of destroying a tank, on which the US has yet to decide, came as just another pointless propaganda exercise.
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