3 weapons that changed the course of Ukraine’s war with Russia

When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine a year ago, most observers expected a quick victory for the invaders.

Those early predictions of Russian success have not materialized, for what experts cite as a variety of factors, including higher morale and superior military tactics on the Ukrainian side but also – crucially – the supply of Western armaments.

While recent headlines have made much of the potential for Western battle tanks or Patriot air defense systems to influence the war’s outcome, these systems have yet to be used in combat in Ukraine.

But there are other weapons that have already helped to change the course of the war. Here are three key ones that the Ukrainians have used to devastating effects.

At the very beginning of the war, fighters on both sides were expecting Russian armored columns to begin rolling into the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv within days.

The Ukrainians needed something that could blunt that attack – and found it in the form of the Javelin, a shoulder-fired, guided anti-tank missile that can be deployed by a single individual.

Part of its appeal lies in its ease of use, as manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which co-developed the missile with Raytheon, explains: “To fire, the gunner places a cursor over the selected target. The Javelin command launch unit then sends a lock-on-before-launch signal to the missile.”

The Javelin is a “fire and forget” weapon. As soon as its operator takes the shot, they are able to run for cover while the missile finds its way to the target.

This was particularly important in the early days of the war as the Russians tended to stay in columns when trying to enter urban areas. A Javelin operator could fire from a building or behind a tree and be gone before the Russians could fire back.

The Javelin is also good at targeting the weak spot of the Russian tanks – their horizontal surfaces – because its trajectory after launch sees it curve upwards then fall on the target from above, according to Lockheed Martin.