M1 Abrams Tanks Now Being Operated By A Second Ukrainian Unit.

Aug 2025 : The infusion of new armour, most likely from Australia, comes as most of Ukraine’s United States donated Abrams tanks have been lost. The Ukrainian assault regiment said on Thursday that it is now using donated M-1 Abrams tanks. This would be the second Ukrainian unit to have received the tanks since they first started arriving in the country two years ago.

The 425th Assault Regiment Skala announced the arrival of the tanks on its Facebook page. Until now, the 47th Mechanized Brigade Magura was the only Ukrainian unit operating these tanks. Skala, deployed to the Pokrovsk region of eastern Ukraine, is fighting some of the toughest battles of the war.

All indications are that Skala is operating Abrams tanks donated by Australia, the first batch of which arrived in Ukraine in July. Of the 31 M1s donated by the U.S., at least 22 have been lost, according to the Oryx opensource tracking group. The Abrams losses are likely to be even higher, because Oryx only accounts for instances where there is visual proof.

As Maverick had reported last October, Australia announced it would provide Ukraine with 49 M1s, a significant boost for Kyiv’s armoured units, as they continue to face down Russia’s full-scale invasion. Because the tanks were originally sold to Australia by the United States, Washington had to approve the transfer to Ukraine. The Australian Army was able to give up its M1A1 fleet because it is receiving 75 new M1A2 Abrams, in the highly capable SEPv3 variant. You can read more about Australia’s $2.5-billion M1A2 acquisition here.

The Australian variants provided to Ukraine “slightly differ from the baseline vehicles”, the Ukrainian Militarnyi media outlet reported. “They have been upgraded to the M1A1 AIM SA version and received a number of regional modifications to meet customer requirements”, the outlet noted. “These vehicles have a new armour package without depleted uranium. The AIM SA electronics package includes a digital fire control system, thermal imaging and communications equipment better than that of the basic M1A1, as well as a satellite navigation system”.

DU armour is classified and tightly export controlled. Export variants are not equipped with it. The U.S.-supplied Abrams had to be reworked to remove the classified DU armour. Australia’s M1s are an export configuration without it by default. You can read more about DU armour in one of our stories here. In addition, “the gas turbine engines of the Australian tanks have been reconfigured to use diesel fuel instead of JP-8 aviation kerosene”, which is standard for tanks provided by the U.S., Militarnyi added. “This should simplify logistics for the Ukrainian army, whose armoured vehicles are also standardized for diesel”.

It is unknown yet if these tanks have actually made it to the battlefield. Skala’s video announcing the Abrams’ arrival uses archival video from the 47th Brigade, Militarnyi noted. The utility of tanks on the drone-saturated battlefields of Ukraine has been questionable, given how vulnerable those on both sides of the fight have been, especially to the highly manoeuvrable first – person view drones. There were even unconfirmed reports that Ukraine temporarily withdrew its Abrams from the fight after losing so many.

Still, they have been playing a role in the fight for Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub and part of a defensive belt of towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. That’s where Russia has expended large amounts of personnel and equipment to capture small segments of territory. “Since late last year, [Ukrainian troops] have been receiving deliveries of refurbished German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks”, Radio Free Liberty reported in February. “Soldiers on the front lines say the updated vehicles are highly manoeuvrable and give them an edge on the battlefield”.

Leopard variants are still in the fight for Pokrovsk. “A powerful Russian force numbering 100,000 troops is determined to capture Pokrovsk”, Euromaidan Press reported earlier this month. “But the town is heavily defended by drones, artillery, infantry and even a few Leopard 2A4 tanks belonging to the bad-luck 155th Mechanized Brigade”.

It is unclear just how many Abrams Skala has received or how far along its troops are in the training process. However, given the tough fight in Pokrovsk, chances are we will soon see video emerging of these hulking armoured weapons entering the fray.

Team Maverick