Two years of all-out war: weapons of Ukrainian victory

Two years ago, on 24 February, at about 4 am, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After a massive missile attack on Ukraine’s military infrastructure, one of the most powerful armies in the world launched a ground operation against an army that was inferior to the Russian armed forces in everything but morale and motivation.

The Russians launched a massive offensive simultaneously from the south, east, and north. The capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, was besieged for weeks. Russia had more tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, and aircraft, had the advantage in terms of air defense systems and electronic warfare, and used high-tech weapons that Ukrainians could only dream of. Almost no one in the world, except for Ukrainians themselves, believed that the Ukrainian state would be able to survive the Russian onslaught and win the battle for Kyiv.

In the face of the largest invasion on the European continent since World War II, the Ukrainian Armed Forces could only rely on outdated Soviet-era weapons and a handful of Ukrainian-made weapons (effective but few). Among the weapons that Ukraine received from the allies shortly before the full-scale invasion were US-made Javelin and Swedish-British NLAW anti-tank systems, American Stinger man-portable air defense systems, and Turkish Bayraktar armed drones.

Against all odds, Ukraine not only survived but also recaptured a significant part of the territories occupied by the Russians in the first weeks of their blitzkrieg-style offensive. In the spring of 2022, Ukrainians managed to repel an attack on Kyiv and expel Russian troops from all northern regions of the country: Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy Oblasts. In the fall of 2022, Ukraine’s Armed Forces launched a successful counteroffensive in the east (Kharkiv and Luhansk Oblasts) and south (Mykolaiv and Kherson Oblasts), liberating Kherson, the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russian troops managed to occupy since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Unconventional tactical decisions and skillful use of limited resources brought unexpected success to the Ukrainians. Ukrainian resilience made Western allies believe that Ukraine could repel the invasion, provided it had stable military support and weapons to offset Russia’s numerical superiority in arms and manpower.

Stingers, Javelins and Bayraktars

In the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops made significant territorial gains in northern and southern Ukraine. Instead of concentrating all their forces on the Russo-Ukrainian border to stop the Russian advance at any cost, Ukrainians resorted to maneuverable defense and semi-guerrilla methods of warfare. To avoid being overwhelmed by superior Russian air and artillery power, Ukrainian forces scattered, ambushing advancing Russian troops and delivering unexpected, devastating blows.

Confident in their superiority and believing that Ukrainians were unable to resist, the Russians moved along the roads in large convoys of military equipment. The Russian military command mistakenly believed that the entire air defense system of Ukraine was destroyed by missile strikes in the first days of the full-scale invasion. Therefore, the Russians actively used aviation without fear of losing it. The Ukrainians took maximum advantage of the Russian recklessness and overconfidence.

Mobile Ukrainian units used Stingers to destroy Russian military helicopters and fighter jets.

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