Western weapons and Ukrainian successes in 2022
After Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the West, and the United States in particular, provided Ukraine with important military aid to defend itself against Russia. At this stage, this consisted of mainly of portable defense systems like anti-tank Javelins, and anti-aircraft Stingers rather than artillery and vehicles. In the weeks following the February 2022 invasion, however, a wider range of countries began to provide aid, including armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) to Ukraine. Western military aid has only increased since the opening stages of the war, and has helped Ukraine direct the tempo of the conflict in crucial periods.After the first month of the war, when Ukraine pushed Russian forces out of the areas around Kyiv in the north of the country, the next phase of the conflict was focused in the East. Here, the war entered something of a stalemate, with Russian and Ukrainian artillery systems pitted against each other. To regain the upper-hand, and strike Russian supply sites behind their lines, Ukraine sought more advanced artillery, especially multi rocket launcher systems. The donation of American HIMARS, rocket artillery accurate at long-distances, was crucial to Ukraine’s war effort at this stage. Able to strike behind Russian lines Ukraine regained the initiative in September, and pushed Russia’s armies out of the North East of the country, around the cities of Kharkiv and Izyum. HIMARS systems also helped to degrade Russian forces around Kherson, with Russia being forced to withdraw from the key southern city in November. Although the intensity of the war decreased somewhat in the winter, it is expected that the fighting will escalate once again in spring 2023, with Russian and Ukrainian offensives on the horizon.
