Javelin, the anti-tank missile that has become a symbol of Western aid to Ukraine

More than 70 days have passed since Russian troops began what they say was a “special military operation” in Ukraine and if, on February 24, few believed that Kiev could resist Russian military might, the truth is. which not only succeeded, but has not yet let the resistance fall in Donbass, more precisely in the steel mill Azovstal.

Without failing to emphasize the commitment and bravery of the military at the orders of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, military analysts seem to converge on one point: without the arms support of the West, the war would have taken another course.

An example of this are the Javelin missiles, American equipment, capable of rendering a tank unusable at up to four kilometers away.

The image of a saint carrying a Javelin on her shoulder has been gaining popularity among the resistance, so much so that Ukrainian newborns are being named Javelin.

Since the US invasion alone, Ukraine has received about 5,500 missile units.

Last Tuesday (3), the US president himself praised the capacity of the national missile, during a visit to one of the factories that produce the Javelin. Joe Biden also took the opportunity to play with the newborn suit named after the weapon.

This missile has been important in stopping the Russian offensive in late February and early March towards Kiev in cities such as Moschun, on the outskirts of the capital, as the special envoy of the CNN International Matt Rivers with Ukrainian resistance soldiers.

Also in an interview with El País, Siemon Wezeman, an arms trade specialist at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, explains that “this is a very effective weapon, designed to attack the turret – the top part of a tank –, which is usually the least protected area.”

Efficiency that is even greater when on the other side are Russian tanks.

“Effectiveness increases in this case because they store all the ammunition in the turret or just below, with very little protection, unlike European or North American tanks.”

The Javelin has yet another particularity that made it highly useful for the Ukrainian army, as “it is an anti-tank missile equipped with a system that does not need to be guided to hit the target”, which makes it possible for the shooter to take cover after carrying out the shot, explains Siemon Wezeman.

However, in the United States, alarms are beginning to sound, as denounced by the US Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, about the reserves of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. “The closet is empty,” he said.

According to US sources cited by the CNN Internationally, about a third of the Javelin and a quarter of the Stinger inventory have already been sent to Ukraine as part of the eight aid packages.

The Pentagon, for its part, assures that the eight aid packages to Ukraine did not harm the readiness of the American defense.