"Our military reported the destruction of the first Abrams in the Avdeyevka area. Perhaps this is the armored vehicle that was shown to the Ukraine military in a propaganda video, before the liberation of Avdeyevka. At that time, the armored vehicle was being guarded and was not brought to the line of contact," Gagin said.
Earlier this month, Russian forces entered the heart of the heavily fortified Donetsk suburb of Avdeyevka, with the Defense Ministry announcing that Russian troops had advanced over 8.5 km into Ukrainian positions behind the front on Sunday. The total area reportedly cleared out after fierce battles amounted to 31.75 square km during which Ukraine lost over 1,500 soldiers.