At the beginning of the war, the United States, Britain and the European Union decided to send Ukraine what they considered “defense weapons” – especially anti-tank rocket launchers and Javelin, Stinger and Starstreak missile launchers, as well as body armor. of bullets and helmets.
The fear was that Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack a NATO (Western Military Alliance) member country that had sent weapons to Ukraine. But this position has changed as reports of war crimes committed against civilians by Russia have emerged.
The deployment of so-called defense weapons by sympathetic powers to a weaker nation during a war against a stronger country occurred several times in the 20th century without causing further escalation of conflict. The United States supplied the Afghans with weapons in their war against the Soviet Union (1979-1989) and the Soviets, in turn, did the same with opponents of their rivals in the wars of Vietnam (1955-1975) and Korea (1950). -1953).
But sending attack weapons has always been taboo. This was evident in early March of this year, when the US suggested that Poland donate its MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Poles said they would make the aircraft available, but that the US should deliver them. Washington backtracked, citing fear of the conflict spreading across Europe.
But that fear of the MIG episode appears to be fading as allegations of war crimes emerge – such as the hundreds of civilian dead with execution characteristics found when Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, on the outskirts of Kiev.
The Czech Republic took the lead and sent in T-72 tanks, in an evident escalation in the intensity of military aid. After an attack on a train station with thousands of refugees in Kramatorsk, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the deployment of anti-ship and armored missiles.
The United States, for its part, is studying ways to mobilize its defense industrial base to provide Ukraine with long-term weapons. The US alone has already sent $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The European Union sent 1 billion euros and Britain recently announced a further 100 million pounds in aid.
However, while the fear of sending weapons from Western powers has cooled, the possibility that NATO will be engulfed by the conflict increases as arms shipments increase. Another hypothesis that has been gaining traction is that Western nations are starting to secretly send weapons to Ukraine – that is, without public announcement, so as not to increase tensions with Russia.
See below what are the known weapons that are entering Ukraine:
tanks
The Czech Republic sent at least 12 Soviet-made T-72 main battle tanks to Ukraine, which were modernized. These armored vehicles have a 125 mm cannon, at least one 7.62 mm caliber machine gun and are operated by a crew of three soldiers.
They are the tanks most used by both Ukrainians and Russians on the battlefield. The advantages of the T-72 are that it is an easy-to-maintain armored vehicle that Ukrainian forces are already used to operating.
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However, there are tanks of greater capacity and armor in the Ukrainian war. In addition to the tanks, the Czech Republic also sent an undisclosed number of armored troop carriers to Ukraine.
The German company Rheinmetall has said it will send 50 Leopard I main battle tanks if authorized by the German government. The first deliveries would start in six weeks, according to the Handelsblatt newspaper. Like the T-72, this tank began to be produced in the 1960s. It was once the main battle tank of many European armies, but it was outdated and today plays a secondary role in the armed forces that still have them. It has a 105mm cannon, two 7.62mm machine guns and is operated by a crew of four.
Britain has promised to send 120 tanks to Ukraine. It is speculated that they are Masfiff patrol vehicles, used in Afghanistan. They can carry two crew and eight combatants. They are armed with 7.62 mm, 12.7 mm machine guns or grenade launchers.
anti-aircraft defenses
Slovakia sent S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, also from the Soviet era, to Ukraine. Modernized, it is one of the most efficient air defense systems today. From trucks, it fires missiles that fly six times faster than sound and hit targets 80 kilometers away. They are very important for Ukraine as they can shoot down Russian cruise missiles and attack planes.
Moscow claimed to have destroyed four such missile launchers this week in the Dnipro region. Slovakia denied that the S-300s sent by the country were hit. Ukraine already had such weapons. Military analysts say the attacks on the S-300 in Dnipro are part of a build-up to a major Russian ground offensive that is expected to take place in the Donbass region.
Ukraine also received hundreds of American-made Stinger rockets. Unlike the S-300, they are small arms, which can be carried and operated by one or two combatants. The missile is fired from a soldier’s shoulder and can hit helicopters or planes flying at low altitude (up to 3.8 kilometers) at a maximum distance of just over 4 kilometers.
Great Britain also sent similar weapons, but more modern than Stingers. Starstreaks hit aircraft flying 5 kilometers high and 7 kilometers away.
naval missiles
Britain has said it will send anti-ship missiles to Ukraine. The objective is to give the Ukrainians the means to defend the ports that are still under their control: Odessa and Mykolaiv. The weapon sent is believed to be the Harpoon missile, which can be fired from aircraft or truck-mounted coastal batteries. It flies close to the sea surface and can hit targets up to 140 kilometers away.
Military analysts fear that this weapon specifically has the potential to create an escalation in the conflict. They fear a scenario in which a Russian warship is hit by one of these missiles and sinks, leaving more than a hundred sailors dead in a single strike. This could lead Russia to retaliate with tactical nuclear weapons or even carry out attacks on a NATO member country.
Artillery
The United States and European nations are trying to prevent Ukraine from running out of artillery ammunition. The Czech Republic has already sent 12 howitzers to aid in the war effort.
The United States is now evaluating the possibility of sending counterbattery systems. That is, radar and artillery equipment that serve to locate and destroy Russian artillery. Ukraine has been asking for self-propelled artillery tanks, that is, an artillery cannon mounted on a tank that, unlike howitzers, does not need to be towed by another vehicle on the battlefield.
Drones
Ukraine received from Turkey Bayraktar TB2 drones, which are large unmanned aircraft armed with missiles. They were very effective in destroying Russian armor at the beginning of the campaign, but are being used less since Russia improved its air defense systems.
Washington has promised to send smaller drones to Ukraine that fly at around 100 km/h loaded with explosives, which detonate when they collide with the enemy.
infantry weapons
European countries and the US have been sending single-use weapons, especially rifles, and ammunition to Ukrainian fighters since the beginning of the war. They have also been sending in anti-tank rockets and Javelin missile launchers – which have become the most popular weapon of the war because they can be operated by a single combatant and have the ability to effectively destroy Russia’s heavy armored vehicles. The US should also start sending Claymore mines, with the aim of containing the advance of Russian infantry.
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