Russian soldiers thank the US for delivering Abrams tanks to Ukraine

Russian soldiers posted a video thanking US President Biden for transferring Abrams tanks to Ukraine so they could have the opportunity to shoot them down and get rewarded with money.

"Dear US President Joe Biden, we, the Russian military, express our sincere gratitude for the Abrams tanks that you provided to Ukraine," a Russian soldier said in a video released by the country's media on March 3.

The person said Russian soldiers were rewarded with money for every Abrams they shot down on the battlefield in Ukraine, and expected the US military to "transfer more".

Several Russian companies have said they will reward soldiers who destroy Abrams tanks. Fores, a company based in the Urals that makes equipment to support the energy industry, announced in January 2023 that it would award 5 million rubles ($72,000) to the first Russian soldier to destroy a Western tank, and 500,000 rubles ($7,200) for subsequent kills.

Alexander Osipov, governor of Zabaikalsky province in eastern Russia, announced around the same time that he would offer a 500,000 ruble ($7,150) reward to soldiers in the province who shot down an Abrams tank.

Russian soldiers urge Biden to send more Abrams tanks to Ukraine — Russian servicemen call on US President to send more M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in video released on March 3. Video: *Telegram/Otryad Kovpaka*

The mocking statement by Russian soldiers came after the country's forces announced that they had destroyed two M1 Abrams tanks and two M1150 mine-clearing engineering vehicles in the battlefield area near Avdeevka in the past 10 days. In the most recent battle on March 3, Russian soldiers used RPG anti-tank guns to shoot off the tracks of the M1 Abrams tank and used a drone to finish it off.

Sergey Chemezov, head of Russia's defense conglomerate Rostec, said Russian soldiers had broken the myth of the Abrams tank's invulnerability. "The absolute superiority of Western military technology is a myth," Mr. Chemezov said.

Mistake causes Ukrainian Abrams tank to burn

The US announced in January 2023 that it would transfer 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, but the combat vehicle did not appear on the front line before February. The Ukrainian army deployed Abrams tanks in combat at Avdeevka late last month, but they were quickly detected and destroyed by Russian drones.

Some Western experts believe that Ukraine may be reserving its M1 tanks for a large-scale offensive, or may not want to push them out to confront Russia's strong defenses in harsh weather and terrain conditions.

The US initially planned to provide Ukraine with the M1A2 model, but later decided to choose the less modern M1A1SA variant to speed up the delivery. However, these M1 Abrams tanks will not arrive in Ukraine until September 2023.

Western media said the M1 tanks Ukraine received were "not new" and had all the most sensitive technology removed, including armor made of depleted uranium alloy.

Yan Gagin, a Russian-appointed adviser to the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, said on March 2 that Ukraine's M1 Abrams tanks were "nothing more than tin cans with guns attached" after all modern technology had been stripped away.

Nguyen Tien (According to RT, AFP, Reuters )

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