Russia "hunts" for Abrams near Avdiivka, Ukraine’s Security Service exposes FSB

Defense Express reported the information.

Russia has formed an intelligence group to gather information on the positions of Ukrainian Armed Forces units, artillery systems, and armored vehicles in the Avdiivka direction, where heavy fighting is ongoing. The Security Service of Ukraine uncovered this activity.

In June, the Russian FSB recruited two individuals who, though acting independently, had a common contact in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. These individuals gathered intelligence on Ukrainian checkpoints, fortifications near the front line, the locations of Ukrainian artillery systems, and the routes of armored vehicles, including Abrams tanks. They provided this information to the Russian FSB through messaging platforms. An investigation is underway, and the detainees are facing charges under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for committing high treason during martial law.

Notably, Ukraine recently received all 31 Abrams tanks that the US had pledged to deliver earlier in the year, with the first tanks handed over to the Ukrainian Defense Forces in September. Colonel Martin O'Donnell, the US Army's representative in Europe and Africa, emphasized that Ukraine would determine how and where to deploy these tanks on the battlefield, indicating that their immediate use might not be guaranteed.