• The Ukrainian army is keeping Russia out of most of their country's major cities and destroying Russian tanks in the process.
  • The internet has been flooded with videos of Russian tanks bursting into flames.
  • In less than one week this month, the United States and NATO armed Ukraine with more than 17,000 anti-tank weapons.

One of the world's largest armies is failing.

After more than a month of war, the Russian military has faced debilitating casualties fighting an enemy with three times less manpower. With weapons, many from NATO allies, the Ukrainian army has so far denied entry to Russian forces for nearly all of its major cities and destroying Russian tanks in the process. 

During the last few weeks, the internet has been flooded with videos of Russian tanks bursting into flames. The Ukrainian military is destroying tanks with a variety of weapons, including land mines, Stunga-Ps guided missiles and shoulder-fired missiles like Javelin and NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon). 

In less than one week this month, the United States and NATO armed Ukraine through Poland and Romania with more than 17,000 anti-tank weapons, the New York Times reported.  

Combat in Ukraine is revealing that advances in guided missiles are making it much easier for soldiers, even volunteers, to kill tanks. Out of the 2,840 tanks in Russia's active arsenal, at least 340 have been destroyed in Ukraine as of March 29. 

These seven videos show the different ways the Ukrainian army is annihilating Russian tanks at a rate even experts have found striking. 

Apparent land mine

A land mine is an explosive device concealed underground designed to destroy those who, often unknowingly, come into contact with them. Causing indiscriminate damage, land mines can lie dormant for years before being triggered and often pose issues to civilians long after combat has ended. First used in World War II, land mines have been used in many conflicts, including the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the first Gulf War. 

 

Javelin

Javelin is a portable anti-tank missile systems that can be carried and launched by a single person. With a range of 2.5 miles, it traces its target's thermal picture and are useful against tanks because they can strike from the top, like the the track and field spear that shares its name. Javelin is a "fire and forget" system, in which self-guided missiles let soldiers take cover or reload immediately after firing. Designed by U.S. companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the Javelin was first deployed in 1996. 

 

Stugna-P

Designed and produced in Ukraine, Stugna-P is an anti-tank missile system. At 200 pounds, it is heavier, less portable, and cheaper than the Javelin, but has proved to be extremely effective against Russian tanks. It can be set up on tripods and camouflaged, allowing soldiers to hide before discharging the missile via remote control. With a firing range of 328 feet to 3.1 miles, Stugna-P can be manually guided using a remote control or left to be guided by its own laser in "fire and forget" mode.

 

 

NLAW 

Like the Javelin, the NLAW is a portable anti-tank weapon that can be launched by a single soldier, or even volunteer, on foot and uses the "fire and forget" method. The weapon uses "predictive line of sight" technology, calculating the target's distance and speed.  The NLAW can hit moving targets between 20 and 400 meters away and stationary targets up to 800 meters. 

 

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