This handout video grab released by the Russian Defence Ministry on February 15 shows Russian tanks after joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus
(Picture: Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine on a series of fronts.
The main line of attack is on Donbas, to defend and expand the territory controlled by the breakaway governments of Luhansk and Donetsk. This is being matched by bombardment of nearby ports on the Black Sea, Mariupol and Odessa, the third biggest city.
Putin’s generals are trying to avoid close combat between Russian and Ukraine ground forces, regular and irregular. The main weapon systems, shown in a constant stream of propaganda photos and videos, are standoff Grad rocket systems, long distance artillery and main battle tanks. The rocket systems of choice are the BM-21 Grad and Strela 35 BMPs. They are the successors to the Katyushas of the Red Army, known as Uncle Joe Stalin’s organs.
The rocket forces are complemented by medium and long range artillery – especially the self-propelled 152mm self-propelled and 152mm towed artillery.
The main tank force are based on the T-72 main battle tank. It has been in service for some time now, and came in towards the end of the troubled Soviet operation in Afghanistan from 1979-89. New models are in the pipeline, but haven’t become operational. Familiar to all Russian infantry units are the tracked wheeled armoured carriers, the BMP-2s and BMP-2s.
More than half the effective combat power of the Russian army is now committed to the Ukraine theatre of operations. They are expected to coordinate with air forces with manned and unmanned aircraft. The standard attack aircraft are the SU-34s, used in both Syria and Libya, with mixed success and the older Mig-29.
The unknown factor is the use of drones, Uncrewed aircraft. Russia has dozens of unit using them – but how successfully is not clear. The Russian backed Armenia forces were bested by Turkish and Israeli drones used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh war in autumn 2020. Ukraine has Turkish Bayraktar tb2 drones, and have used them against Russian artillery.
The weapon most likely to be used by both sides is the most famous, and successful, assault rifle in history the Kalashnikov AK-47 and 74s.
