Russia claims to have destroyed its first US M1 Abrams on Ukraine battlefield as video 'shows tank burning near frontline'

Russia claims to have destroyed its first American M1 Abrams on the battlefield in Ukraine, with images allegedly showing a stricken tank burning near the frontline.

The apparent drone strike is said to have taken place near the eastern city of Avdiivka, which Vladimir Putin's forces recently claimed after four months of bitter fighting and heavy losses. 

Pro-Moscow media released footage of a tank rolling along a dirt track through bombed-out streets, with footage cutting out before any attack takes place.

A separate, low-quality video, shows a burning vehicle, though it is not clear if it is the American battle tank. Meanwhile, pictures appear to show a damaged M1 on fire, which pro-Putin media pointed to as evidence that it had destroyed the tank.

Moscow-installed authorities in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region told Kremlin-run news agency RIA Novosti that the tank had been destroyed, while there was no confirmation from Kyiv.

Pro-Moscow media released footage of a tank rolling along a dirt track through bombed-out streets

A low-quality video, shows a burning vehicle, though it is not clear if it is an M1 Abrams

Pictures appear to show a damaged M1 tank on fire, though it is not clear if it is the same tank as in the grainy video

Russian news outlet Mash reported: 'The first one went. The famous American M1 Abrams was shot down in the Avdiivka direction.'

It reported that before this, the tank in question was noticed in Berdychi, around one mile from Russian positions in Donetsk region, before troops 'worked on it efficiently'.

Earlier, Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin promised to pay 10 million roubles (£86,000) for the destruction of the M1 Abrams.

News outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets reported: 'The first Abrams near Avdiivka was burned by the Black Hussars of the Brave group.

'Soldiers of the 15th brigade hit the tank with a kamikaze drone and finished it off with a grenade launcher.'

Footage of what is said to be the burning tank was revealed by the propagandist Solovyov Live telegram channel.

Military correspondent Alexander Kots said: 'The first American Abrams tank has been destroyed near Avdiivka.

'Several teams of our kamikaze drone operators were hunting for the "American" at once.

'They began to strike the Abrams. And it was finished off by soldiers of the 15th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade using anti-tank weapons.

Smoke appears to be emanating from an object on the ground, which Russia channels claim is an M1 tank

Footage of what is said to be the burning tank was revealed by the propagandist Solovyov Live telegram channel

'In principle, there is nothing supernatural about these tanks, they burn just like [German] Leopards.

'So the 'premiere' [of the Abrams] in the [war] zone was only a matter of time.

'But the very fact that Abrams appeared near Avdiivka may indirectly indicate that Kyiv is throwing its deepest reserves, which are accumulated in the 47th mechanised brigade….

'In total, the US supplied Ukraine with 31 such [tanks]. Now 30 remain.'

Russia's claim that it had destroyed the tank came as Ukrainian troops pulled out of a village in the east of the country, an army spokesman said on Monday, as Russian forces make their advantages in manpower and ammunition tell on the battlefield at the start of the war's third year.

The latest setback for Kyiv's soldiers was in the village of Lastochkyne, where they fell back to nearby villages in an attempt to hold the line there, said Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesman for one of the Ukrainian troop groupings.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said its troops had 'liberated' Lastochkyne.

RIA Novosti quoted local commander Andrei Mordvichev as saying troops had pushed Ukrainian forces back by six miles and were continuing with their offensive. The agency said a key Ukrainian supply route ran through Lastochkyne.

It was not possible to independently verify each side's claims.

Military correspondent Alexander Kots (pictured in a file image) said: 'The first American Abrams tank has been destroyed near Avdiivka'

Though not in itself a major loss, abandoning the village illustrates the battlefield challenges Ukraine is currently facing. The new phase of the war has brought some bleak developments for Ukraine.

Despite suffering high losses of troops and equipment, Ukraine says, Moscow's troops are driving on, smashing towns and cities with their superior firepower.

Western analysts say the Russians are attacking in strength along four parallel lines in the northeast, aiming to press deeper into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region north of it.

Ukrainian defence minister Rustan Umerov has complained that half of the promised western military support to Ukraine fails to arrive on time. 

That, he said, makes it hard to undertake proper military planning and ultimately costs the lives of soldiers.

Western leaders have sworn to stand by Ukraine as long as they need to defeat Russia's full-scale invasion of February 24 2022.

At a press conference to mark two years since the war broke out this weekend, President Zelensky called on Ukraine's Western partners to urgently provide his country with weapons.

'There is no option of losing. Because if Ukraine loses, we will cease to exist,' he told UK media. 'Hence, such an ending to the struggle for our lives is definitely not an option for us.'

'Will there be a lot of losses? That is up to you, our partners, the Western world... If we are strong, if we have weapons, we will not lose this war. We will win.'