From rockets to tanks: how the West armed Ukraine

From rockets to tanks: how the West armed Ukraine
By Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT and Clare BYRNE
Paris (AFP) March 29, 2023

Since Russia invaded Ukraine 13 months ago, the West has delivered ever more powerful weapons to Kyiv to help it defend its territory and recapture lost ground.

AFP looks at how the type of weaponry supplied has evolved, in line with Russia's changing tactics.

- Phase 1: defensive weapons -

No sooner had Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 than the West started arms deliveries to its ally.

Between February and March, Ukraine received more than 40,000 small arms and light weapons (pistols, rifles, submachine guns), 17,000 shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles (Manpads), as well as 25,000 helmets and 30,000 bulletproof vests, according to Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks weapons promised and delivered to Ukraine.

- Phase 2: artillery battles -

After being driven back from the outskirts of Kyiv and the second city of Kharkiv, the Russian army scaled back its offensive to focus on the east and south.

With a major battle looming for the eastern Donbas region, the West began delivering artillery pieces that allowed Ukraine to hit behind enemy lines, destroying ammunition stocks and disrupting Russian supply lines.

The US in June agreed to send long-range HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), which Ukraine used to go on the offensive, driving the Russians out of the occupied city of Kherson.

By the autumn, 321 howitzers had been delivered, 49 multiple rocket launchers, 24 attack helicopters, more than 1,000 US drones and 280 Soviet-built tanks, sent mainly by Ukraine's neighbour Poland.

- Phase 3: missile defence -

Throughout the autumn Russia repeatedly pounded cities across Ukraine with missiles and, later, suicide drones, in a bid to wipe out Ukraine's energy infrastructure and destroy morale.

Kyiv asked for missile defence systems to counter the threat.

In December, Washington agreed to deliver its Patriot missiles, considered one of the best air defence systems in the world.

- Phase 4: tanks and fighter jets -

During the winter, the eastern front became mired in brutal trench warfare, with Ukraine fighting tooth and nail to hold onto the Donbas town of Bakhmut.

Zelensky's appeals to the West to send state-of-the-art tanks so that Kyiv could again go on the offensive again were finally heard in January.

This week, Germany confirmed that it had delivered 18 of its powerful Leopard tanks and Kyiv confirmed that it had also received Challenger tanks from Britain, which had promised 14.

The United States for its part has pledged 31 Abrams tanks but said they cannot deliver them before the autumn.

The US last month said it would also send rocket-propelled precision bomb that would nearly double Kyiv's strike range against the Russians.

Russia said on Tuesday it had downed one of the ground-launched small-diameter bombs (GLSDB), which have a range of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles), nearly twice that of HIMARS.

The race is also on for dominance of Ukraine's skies.

Poland earlier this month announced plans to send Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. A day later, Slovakia said it would follow suit.