October 24, 2022 Issue

Joshua Yaffa, in his absorbing “Arming Ukraine,” in this week’s issue, writes about the weapons that Ukraine has received from the U.S. and other NATO countries – weapons that have enabled Ukraine not only to defend itself against Russia’s brutal onslaught, but also to mount an effective counter-attack. The shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank missile, the M777 howitzer, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) – these are three key pieces of weaponry provided by the U.S. Yaffa says of the M77s:

The M777s allowed Ukraine to mount a defense in the Donbas. “In any war, of course, it’s not only about quantity, but quality,” Roman Kachur, the commander of Ukraine’s 55th Artillery Brigade, said. “There’s a difference when you’re fighting with a modern weapons system or one that hasn’t been significantly updated since the days of the Second World War.” For weeks, his forces had faced heavy artillery fire from a fortified Russian position near Donetsk, a Russian-occupied city in the Donbas. “We couldn’t knock the enemy out of there, because we simply couldn’t reach him,” Kachur told me. Then the M777s arrived. “Within three or four days, the Russians had pulled all their artillery out of there,” he said. “It’s a new situation. We are dictating their behavior to a certain degree.”

He says of the HIMARS:

The first batch of HIMARS appeared on the battlefield late in June. Within days, videos circulated of Russian equipment and munitions depots outside Donetsk exploding in clouds of fire and smoke. Reznikov announced that the military had used HIMARS to destroy dozens of similar Russian facilities. In response, the senior Biden Administration official said, Russian forces “have had to adjust their tactics and maneuvers,” moving command posts and munitions depots out of range—which also diminishes their utility in battle. “They are very mindful of the presence of HIMARS,” the official said.

If you admire the gritty fighting spirit of Ukraine, as I do, you’ll likely appreciate “Arming Ukraine.” It shows the crucial role that Western arms supplies have played in Ukraine’s success on the battlefield.