Ukrainian forces have received anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles from Western countries, as they face heavy fire from Russian troops, AFP reports.
According to the report, a video posted on Twitter by a Kyiv Independent journalist, authenticated by AFP, a Russian helicopter is hit head-on by a missile and crashes to the ground. There is every chance that it is a Stinger anti-aircraft missile: among the tons of military equipment that Western countries have delivered to the Ukrainian forces to face the Russian threat, we find this missile short-range surface-to-air aerial (4800 meters), of American manufacture.
“The Stinger missile is a classic in this type of conflict. The Russians have extensively tested it, particularly in Afghanistan since it had been delivered to the mujahideen. It is a tube of approximately 15 kilos, it is 1.5 meters long, it is portable on the back of a man and it is extremely reliable since its success rate is 95%, it is unstoppable for the opposing forces”, explains General Jérôme Pellistrandi, Defense consultant for BFMTV.
Another weapon now in the hands of the Ukrainian army, the Javelin anti-tank missiles, also of American manufacture. A little over a meter long and around twenty kilos, carried on the back of a man, they are extremely effective thanks to a “tandem charge”: a first charge weakens the shielding, then a second charge completely destroys the chariot. Importantly, the launch system allows the shooter to take cover immediately after firing the missile.
The report by AFP, suggests that if these weapons will not allow Ukraine to reverse the balance in their favour, they should allow its army to slow the advance of the Russian forces. Stinger missiles have already inflicted serious damage on the Russian air force: according to a figure given by the Ukrainian forces, “88 [Russian] aircraft were shot down”, which means that there are “several dozen at least “which were destroyed because this figure must be taken “with caution”, underlines General Jérôme Pellistrandi on our antenna.
The sum of $350 million, an unprecedented amount, was recently released by the United States to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, including the supply of Javelin and Stinger missiles. Besides the United States, other Western countries like the Netherlands, Germany , Lithuania or Latvia have supplied these same missiles to the Ukrainian army. In addition, the Americans are now considering sending warplanes to Ukraine , via Poland.