Types of weapons Ukraine is using to fight Russia

Even before Nato started giving military help to Ukraine, there were stories of bravery in the first weeks of Russia’s big war. This shows that Vladimir Putin won’t win quickly like he wanted to.

No one was as impressive as a grandmother in Kyiv who reportedly took down a drone by throwing a jar of pickles at it, causing it to crash to the ground. It’s not clear if this really happened.

In Ukraine, regular people used Molotov cocktails as a way to fight back when their cities were attacked.

Two years later, the Russian army, which is still powerful despite being damaged, just had a big win in the city of Avdiivka. Ukraine now needs more help from the West.

The Russian warship, the Caesar Kunikov, sank after sea drones attacked it near occupied Crimea. At least 89 enemy soldiers were killed in Makiivka when a building they were in was hit by HIMARS rockets.

Ivan Stupak, a person who helps keep Ukraine safe, said to the media that weapons from the West have helped Ukraine in fighting, but having a lot of them is important.

The specialist explained which weapons have really helped in the conflict.

First Person View Drones

Russia and Ukraine make many FPV drones every year.

In the beginning of the year, Volodymyr Zelensky said that a new part of the military called the Unmanned Systems Forces will be created just for drones.

Mr Stupak has talked media many times about what his country needs to stop Putin’s aggression, and he always says the same thing: FPV drones.

He says it is one of Ukraine’s best weapons, often used in the Kherson region, because it is cheap and easy to make, costing up to $800.

They have different jobs, like spying and watching, but Mr Stupak said they are usually used together, which Russians don’t like.

“It’s a terrible noise in the sky, Russians are not happy about the buzzing,” he said.

Ukraine’s plan is to use two drones together – one to wait for the enemy’s bus and the other to film what happens.

If the first doesn’t work, the second one will do it.

Mr Stupak said we want to make a lot of drones, up to a million by 2024. Regular people can also build them at home with YouTube videos.

FPV drones from different brands and models can fly up to a mile away. This lets pilots see and gather information, and also launch attacks.

The speed usually goes from 19 to 50 miles per hour, and they fly from a few hundred meters to a mile above the ground. Most of the time, about two out of every three soldiers are killed by the enemy’s gunfire.

HIMARS
HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. It is a mobile rocket launcher that can launch missiles from a vehicle.

Made by an American company called Lockheed Martin, HIMARS is short for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

The White House gave 39 rocket-launchers with wheels, and Russian forces have not destroyed any of them yet.

We don’t know the exact cost of the rocket system now, but back in 2014, one unit of HIMARS cost about $5. 1

This is a problem that has been causing trouble for Russians in Ukraine.

A few days ago, a Ukrainian attack near the village of Trudovske in occupied Donetsk killed 63 Russian soldiers who were waiting to meet their commander.

HIMARS can shoot rockets and missiles that can travel up to 186 miles. It is put on a very movable M142 Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) vehicle.

This helps the military move quickly and change position easily, making it more likely to survive and be able to adapt in battle.

Mr Stupak said that unlike old Soviet equipment, HIMARS almost always hits its target on the first try.


Cluster munitions

Ukraine used cluster munitions from the US to continue their summer offensive, even though they are banned by over 100 countries because of human rights issues.

In August 2023, Ukraine used cluster bombs to free the village of Urozhaine in Donetsk.

Video from a drone showed Russian soldiers leaving while there were at least 12 explosions nearby.

Cluster munitions are big weapons that release lots of smaller bombs.

Mr Stupak said they are usually used against enemy soldiers coming towards them and the small bombs can spread out over an area as big as a football field.

One big problem with cluster bombs is that they can hurt or kill many people without being careful about who they hit.

Submunitions may not explode when they hit the ground, and they can stay there as a danger to people even after a war is over.


Drones that can move in the ocean.

Ukraine’s Sea Baby drones were used for the first time to attack the Russian-built Kerch Bridge in 2022.

Sea drones are different from flying drones. They work in or under the water and have been getting better since the start of the war.

Mr Stupak said they were very advanced but also cost a lot of money.

Some reports say that just the communication system costs around $300,000.

But he said that Ukraine is at an advantage because a sea drone attacked the $300 million Caesar Kunikov in the Black Sea.

‘There was no way to compare.