Ukraine laughs and cries with the American Javelin "killer"
In a situation where only a limited number are available, the Ukrainian army in the Donbass region is forced to train on fake Javelin copies, made from wood, tree branches and wire.
Ukraine requested the US to provide modern lethal weapons for use against Donbass from the very beginning of the war, but the Javelin anti-tank missile system was only provided by Washington when Donald Trump entered the White House. For some surprising reason, the Kiev nationalists hoped that these modern weapons systems would help the Kiev army gain the upper hand on the battlefield and crush the Donbass militias, despite the restrictions imposed by the US administration on Ukraine.
The US government, in accordance with the US House of Representatives resolution on the provision of lethal weapons in 2017, provided Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which the previous administration of President Barack Obama had repeatedly refused. The bad thing is that in the Javelin supply agreement, the Ukrainian army was not allowed to use American anti-tank missile systems in the Donbass war zone.
"I believe that in this really ridiculous situation, our army will receive permission from the United States to use only two or three of these anti-tank systems in an emergency situation," Georgy Tuke, the deputy minister for the affairs of the territories temporarily occupied by the rebels and displaced people in Ukraine, said in a televised speech on Ukrainian television. But he also consoled the public that these systems alone could "eliminate the arrogance of the enemy (Donbass)."
In a situation where there are only a limited number of Javelin smart anti-tank missiles and limited exploitation of their use, according to the list of about 37 launchers and 210 missiles. The Ukrainian army in the Donbass region is forced to train on fake Javelin copies, made from wood, branches and electric wires. This is an unimaginable situation for a country that was once a defense industrial power, much larger than China.
Kiev soldiers use "wooden" Javelins in combat training. Photo from Twitter |
This photo of the "wooden" Javelin immediately became a joke on social networks, many users commented with content mocking the Ukrainian army and this toy anti-tank system.
One of the social media users wrote: “Javelin may be a toy, but don’t bring it near the border, Donbass sniper bullets are real and don’t miss.”
Another wrote: “Are Javelins sold out? Can you train with slingshots? Where did our tax money go?”
The complex developments related to the Javelin complex show that, even in the most favorable case, Javelin will not be able to exert pressure and terror on the Donbass militia units, at least until the end of this year.