It depends on what you mean by "easily". AFAIK the russian do contemplate loading directly from the racks, because...well if anything else the autoloader can fail and then it would be bad to have the tank unable to shoot. As far as getting to the ammunition, it is somewhat
awkaward on a T-72 but still within reach. I would not recommend it in an high intensity battle, but I would tend to suspect that a T-72 would have either been destroyed or managed to overrun enemy tanks before expending all the autoloader ammunition in such situation. If you are just pounding a position at long range or others circumstances where reaction times aren't so critical it is doable.