MOSCOW, June 16 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz.The West is increasingly pumping Ukraine with weapons. The Americans spent another 700 million dollars on this as part of the "aid package". However, the armies of the DPR and LPR have studied overseas and Western European "gifts" quite well. About how foreign samples showed themselves and why Kiev is not particularly happy with the supplies, — in the RIA Novosti material.
The problem with "Javelins"
Two months ago, the Ukrainian Armed Forces intensively used Western-made anti-tank systems, mainly in the Kiev and Kharkiv directions, as well as in Mariupol. The weapon, as noted by the Ukrainian military, showed itself well in ambushes.
There is also a wide range of ATGMs and grenade launchers in the arsenal: American Javelin, British NLAW, Singapore-Israeli Matador, German Panzerfaust 3, Swedish AT4.
Ukrainian military use Javelin launcher during exercises in Donetsk region
Image Source: © AP Photo / Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service
Despite the widely advertised capabilities of Javelins, they did not become a panacea. There were cases when the tank continued to move after four hits. In addition, the installation is very capricious: the reliability of the guidance system strongly depends on the weather and environmental conditions. In Mariupol, according to the participants of the battles, such ATGMs did not actually help — the device simply did not "see" the hot engine of a combat vehicle against the background of fires.
Even Americans recognize the lack of efficiency. The Washington Post writes that the Pentagon was too lazy to translate the 286-page instruction into Ukrainian. The Weseushniki had to study everything using Google translate. There are also not enough spare batteries (Javelin are discharged in just four hours). And the course of study is only two days.
Danger to aviation
Much more problems, according to Donetsk servicemen, are caused by the British equivalent — NLAW. However, most of the ATGMs are with discharged batteries of the target tracking unit, which makes them useless. In addition, the complexes have a relatively short range: about 800 meters.
The People's Militia of the LPR discovered the NLAW anti-tank missile system left by the Ukrainian military
Image source: © RIA Novosti / People's Militia of the LPR
"The German Panzerfaust 3 is more interesting," says the commander of the 3rd battalion of the 107th regiment of the DPR army with the call sign Troll. — This grenade launcher is light, powerful and capable of hitting any equipment. In addition, it is very comfortable and ergonomic, there is a special emphasis under the shoulder."
As noted in the DPR troops, portable anti-aircraft missile systems, mainly American Stinger, British Starstreak and Martlet, as well as Norwegian Mistral, which the West supplies by the thousands, also affect the course of the battles. This, the Republican fighters emphasize, is a rather serious deterrent for Russian aviation. Helicopters and attack aircraft are forced from low altitudes to hit targets with unguided missiles from a cab, that is, a canopy. On the one hand, this allows you not to enter the affected area of MANPADS. On the other hand, it greatly reduces accuracy.
The War of Calibers
In recent weeks, Ukraine has been receiving 155 mm artillery: American towed M777 howitzers, M109 self-propelled guns of early modifications, M114 field guns, French CAESAR wheeled self-propelled guns, Italian FH70 and some others. Such systems hit 30 kilometers. And the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fortified near Avdiivka, Maryinka and Peski, have been regularly shelling the center of Donetsk since the end of May.
"The bombing began after heavy weapons were brought in," the official representative of the DPR army, Eduard Basurin, explains to journalists. — There is no military need for this. There is more of a psychological component here: to scare people, to make them indignant and demand the cessation of hostilities, to sow panic."
In response, the Republican troops acquired long-range 152-mm howitzers "Hyacinth-B". However, it is difficult to adjust their fire, there are not enough drones. Portable counter-battery radars are also adding problems, with the help of which the Ukrainian side calculates the area of the volley along the trajectory of the projectile.
Unmanned threat
In the first weeks of hostilities, the AFU actively used Turkish Bayraktar TB2 reconnaissance and strike drones. However, those, as the military says, turned out to be an easy target for Russian anti-aircraft missile systems.
Turkish-made Bayraktar combat drone at the military parade in Kiev
Image Source: © AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky
"Having lost a couple of dozen Bayraktars, the Ukrainians have changed tactics," says an officer of the DPR army with the call sign Klim. — Previously, these were also strikers, and now only scouts who do not enter the air defense defeat zone. But such drones don't make the weather. Unlike small copters, of which the APU has a lot. With their help, artillery fire is corrected and the terrain is scanned. We are talking about both military UAVs and commercial ones."
In April, more than a hundred Switchblade kamikaze drones were provided by Washington. However, there is almost no information about their use in open sources. According to Western journalists, the AFU fighters are simply "afraid to touch unfamiliar weapons."
"For example, instead of barraging ammunition, they use commercial drones filled with explosives, because they are easier to control," CNN claims. — And in many sectors of the front they did not see NATO weapons at all."
The situation, according to media reports, is complicated by the lack of spare parts and specialists. And it is difficult and long to retrain those who are accustomed to Soviet military models. All this, the American TV channel emphasizes, causes great controversy about the effectiveness of Western assistance.
