how the “Javelin”, this American anti-tank missile launcher, became a symbol of resistance

It takes about two minutes to take the Javelin out of its box. Then a few more minutes to prepare this American anti-tank missile launcher, delivered massively by the Americans, starting with installing a battery and setting up the sight, for these Ukrainian fighters in the south of the country, not far from the Kherson front. “It is a weapon that makes the difference. It’s lighter, mobile and precise with a very high success rate“, specifies Oleksandr, a specialist in this type of armament. He assures franceinfo that he has hit around twenty targets since the start of the war.

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“It has become a symbol that artists have appropriated. There is a virgin, or the famous poet Taras Shevchenko and other celebrities who are for example represented with Javelinshe explains. Before the war, the Javelin was delivered en masse and it is now the symbol of Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine, it is the weapon of victory… Russia boasted with its armada of tanks. Well, the Javelin is our answer to all those tanks and armored vehicles!“

A response which is no longer really adapted to the new configuration of the conflict, believes Ilya Shpolianski, a veteran of the Donbass war. “Today, the Javelin is no longer as effective because the front has frozen. It’s impossible to get too close because of the Russian firepower. If someone is spotted, they immediately get shot. And to take the Russians from behind with a Javelin, it’s very complicated. There is no more movement on the front or very little, only a few offensives… It’s good to have the Javelins but they are less effective.“

The Ukrainians keep repeating it on all fronts, they now need long-range guns. A message heard by Vladimir Putin. Sunday, June 5, he warned that Moscow would strike new targets if the West provided long-range missiles to Ukraine, judging that the current arms deliveries were aimed at “prolonging the conflict”.