The Russo-Ukrainian War is fighting with a range of weapons, from high-tech weapons to homemade explosive devices. The Ukrainian armed forces have recently been modernized, but they are inferior in numbers to the Russian army.
Scenes of Russian-Ukrainian engagement
Russia already has a large advantage in terms of military manpower, with 900,000 active duty personnel and 2 million reservists in its armed forces. By comparison, Ukraine has only 196,000 and 900,000 reservists.
Russia also surpasses Ukraine in terms of military equipment, for example, it has more than 15,857 armored fighting vehicles, compared with 3309 in Ukraine. At present, Ukraine is also constantly receiving modern military hardware from Western countries led by the United States, such as anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Here are some of the weapons that are being used on the battlefield or traveling to the battlefield.
cruise missile
The Russian military used Calibre cruise missiles carried by warplanes to attack military installations across Ukraine. Calibre is a precision weapon that, in Kiev and Kharkov, struck Ukrainian military installations and government buildings.
Iskander missile
The missile is also suitable for Russian warplanes to carry, in order to hit key military targets, the Russian military also uses Iskander missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers, and carries a more powerful warhead that can destroy large buildings and some fortification facilities. Some of these Iskander missiles were launched from the territory of Belarus, which was a staging ground for Russian troops before the offensive.
MiG-29 fighter
Under the agreement with the United States, the Ukrainian Air Force will receive new MiG-29 fighters from Poland. Poland said it would hand over all miG-29 fighter jets to the United States, apparently agreeing to a plan to allow the Ukrainian military to use them. Ukraine could request more warplanes when fighting Russian troops.
MiG-29 fighter
The Ukrainian Air Force used Soviet-made MiG-29 and Soviet jet fighter jets to confront the Russian Air Force and called for more fighters to continue their missions in the long term. At present, the Number of Ukrainian Air Force exceeds that of the Russian Air Force, but the number of Ukrainian pilots who continue to fly combat sorties is decreasing, stemming from the loss of lives in the battle.
Molotov cocktail
From the beginning of the offensive of the Russian army, the Ukrainian authorities issued instructions on how to make such a simple explosive device.
Ironically, it is named after Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian Foreign Minister during World War II, and is made of a glass bottle filled with flammable substances with a cloth cap on the top. When lit, the cloth acts as a wick or fuse before the bottle is thrown at the enemy. On impact, the broken glass releases a combustible liquid, which creates a fireball that achieves the impact effect of a miniature incendiary bomb.
"Vacuum Bomb"
At the other end of the weapons comparison is Russia's controversial thermobaric weapon, the "vacuum bomb." These munitions do not use conventional ammunition. Instead, they are filled with high-temperature and high-pressure explosives.
They are sometimes referred to as "vacuum bombs" because they suck in oxygen from the surrounding air, producing powerful explosions and huge pressure waves that can have a hugely damaging effect. According to Human Rights Watch, Russia deployed thermostatic weapons in Chechnya in 1990 with dire consequences.
Stinger missiles
At present, the United States has sent Stinger missiles to Ukraine to counter Russian troops. Developed by the U.S. Army in the 1980s, the Stinger missile is a 15-kilogram shoulder-fired missile that uses infrared sensors to position aircraft through heat.
The 1.5-meter-long missile traveled at twice the speed of sound and destroyed the target with fragmented explosives. Stingers provided by the Reagan administration successfully helped Afghan rebels shoot down Soviet planes during the 1980s Conflict in Afghanistan.
cluster bomb
Human rights groups say Russian troops used cluster bombs in the Russo-Ukrainian War, an allegation that Moscow denies.
Cluster bombs are weapons that open and release submunitions or "bombs" in the air, which are scattered over a wide area and are designed to cause damage to multiple targets at once.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), cluster bombs can be dropped by aircraft, artillery and missiles. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in addition to the initial damage caused by the munitions on impact, the explosion damage of small bomblets is also high, and large areas of land are dotted with small bomblets that may explode among unsuspecting civilians.
Javelin anti-tank missiles
Western countries have pledged to provide Ukraine with more of this advanced land weaponry to replenish stocks supplied by the United States and Britain before the Russian army attacked.
The Javelin is a lightweight, portable, shoulder-fired missile system that has been shown to successfully destroy armored vehicles in other global conflicts. It has a range of up to 4,000 meters and requires only 72 hours of training for operators – a key factor for the Ukrainian army.