The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video on 9/2 from a fiber-optic first-person view (FPV) drone, showing a Ukrainian M1A1 Abrams main battle tank located near a road close to Huliaipole city, in eastern Zaporizhzhia province.
The tank was covered with multiple layers of mesh and metal bars, known as hedgehog armor, designed to counter suicide drones. It remains unclear whether the Ukrainian tank was disabled by an FPV drone strike or other incoming fire.
A Russian fiber-optic drone approached the Abrams and struck its left track to prevent the crew from evacuating the vehicle. Subsequently, a radio-controlled drone descended from above, aiming to penetrate the armor and pave the way for additional strikes.
Russian defense television reported that the Abrams was completely destroyed, and crew members attempting to abandon the vehicle were also targeted by drones during their retreat. Video footage showed two Ukrainian soldiers lying motionless nearby, with the fate of the other two unknown.
Ukraine's military has not commented on the information.
Lost Armour, a Russia-based open-source intelligence analysis website, identified the tank as belonging to the 425th Motorized Infantry Brigade, part of a batch of Abrams tanks Australia supplied to Ukraine late last year.
Ukraine has received a total of 31 M1A1SA tanks from the United States and 49 M1A1 tanks from Australia. Ukraine's military previously stated that this USD 10 million tank model would be a critical weapon for breaching enemy defenses. However, these forces have sustained significant losses despite limited deployment and not participating in combined-arms assault operations as per NATO military doctrine.
Oryx, a Netherlands-based combat information analysis website, estimates Ukraine has lost at least 23 Abrams tanks since the type entered combat in 2/2024.
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Location of Huliaipole city, Zaporizhzhia province. Graphics: RYV |
Russian tanks and armored vehicles began to be fitted with bundles of metal fibers or steel bars in a "hedgehog" configuration starting in 5/2025. This type of armor is designed to entangle drones or damage their propellers, preventing them from impacting the vehicle, while also activating the drone's fuze wire and causing the warhead to detonate before reaching the main armor.
Ukrainian forces subsequently copied Russia's idea, beginning to deploy tanks and armored vehicles equipped with hedgehog armor from late 10/2025. Some Ukrainian service members described this as a "new advance" for the military and appealed to citizens to donate industrial aluminum cables to equip numerous combat vehicles.
Huliaipole is a crucial logistics hub for Ukraine in Zaporizhzhia province, situated at the intersection of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk provinces. The Russian military gained control of the city in 12/2025 after swift advances in eastern Zaporizhzhia province.
Control of Huliaipole could open a path for Russian forces to advance westward into Zaporizhzhia province, and also facilitate linking their offensive with neighboring Donetsk province. Some experts previously warned of the risk of Ukraine's defensive lines collapsing and facing a strategic disaster if Huliaipole were to be lost.
Nguyen Tien (According to TASS, RIA Novosti, AP)
