Ukrainian forces repair and reuse weapons of the Russian Army itself 2:52
(CNN Spanish) --
From tanks to hypersonic missiles, from drones to thermobaric warheads and man-portable missile launchers, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown an enormous number of weapons engaged in the largest conflict Europe has seen since the early 20th century.
Russian troops crossed the border on February 24.
They did it with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, MT-LB troop carriers, self-propelled guns and trucks, as photos and videos taken in those early days attest.
ANALYSIS |
Russia seems to have a very bad military, and that is not good for Ukrainian civilians
From the air, Su-34 bombers, among others, and helicopters have operated against the Ukrainian forces.
Russia has also used artillery and missiles to bombard Ukrainian cities and positions.
Recently, Moscow said it had used a hypersonic missile, the first recorded use for this type of advanced weapon.
Russia has also used Tochka-U ballistic missiles in the past, a model made in Soviet times that is also found in the arsenals of Ukraine and separatists in Donbas.
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Ukraine, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, operates a lot of weapons similar to or the same as Russia's, such as T-80 tanks, Su-27 fighter-bombers, BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, among others.
But his troops are also armed with Western systems.
The most famous in this conflict, due to their effectiveness, are the Javelin anti-tank missile launchers, provided by the United States, the NLAW, manufactured by the United Kingdom and Sweden, and the Panzerfaust 3, from Germany.
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A destroyed Russian T-72 tank after battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces on a main road near Brovary, north of Kyiv on Thursday, March 10, 2022. Take a look at some of the weapons used in the war in this gallery. Russia in Ukraine.
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A Russian 2S19 Msta self-propelled artillery gun.
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A Russian T-72 or T-90 tank advancing in the early days of the invasion, in front of a CNN reporter.
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Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, on the border shortly before the start of the war.
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A Russian TOS-1A Buratino rocket launcher, capable of firing thermobaric warheads, in Ukraine.
(Credit: CNN)
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Ukrainian police officers inspect a downed Russian drone in Kyiv, on March 22, 2022. (Credit: SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Drone video shows an attack on Russian tanks.
(Credit: Ukrainian Military Defense)
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A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces walks near the wreckage of the downed Russian Sukhoi Su-25 ground-attack aircraft in Kharkiv.
(Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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An unexploded Russian short-range hypersonic ballistic missile, according to Ukrainian authorities, is seen in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, in this distribution image released on March 9.
(Credit: Ukrainian National Guard/Reuters)
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A Ukrainian serviceman walks to the front line in the northern Ukrainian city of Irpin with a 9K38 Igla man-portable anti-aircraft missile launcher.
(Credit: MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ukrainian soldier and former deputy of the Ukrainian Parliament Tetyana Chornovil carries a Ukrainian-made anti-tank guided missile to the front lines near Kyiv.
Credit: (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian soldier holds an NLAW anti-tank missile launcher (made by the UK and Sweden) that was used to destroy an armored vehicle.
(Credit: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
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Employees unload a batch of FGM-148 Javelin, man-portable anti-tank missiles supplied by the US to Ukraine, in Kyiv.
(Credit: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
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A Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank rocket launcher, from Germany, in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers.
(Credit: CNN)
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Ukrainian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv.
(Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ukrainian servicemen drive in T-80 tanks towards the front line against Russian forces in the Lugansk region, Ukraine, on February 25, 2022. (Credit: ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine also uses Turkish-made Bayraktar drones and American Switchblades.
The huge gap between the armies of Ukraine and Russia
The imbalance between both armed forces, although they share a lot of material, is notable.
One need only look at the amount of money the two nations spend on defense to see the gap.
Ukraine spent $4.7 billion in 2021, just over a tenth of the $45.8 billion spent by nuclear-armed Russia, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) report "The Military Balance" released last week. pass.
While the Russian government launched a campaign to modernize its armed forces in 2008, after a brief war with Georgia exposed equipment shortfalls, Ukraine's weaponry remains largely Soviet-era.
Russia also has 900,000 active troops and two million in reserves, while Ukraine has 196,000 and 900,000 reservists.
In ground forces alone, Russia has twice the capacity, with 280,000 troops compared to Ukraine's 125,600.
And its air force is almost five times stronger, with 165,000 members compared to Ukraine's 35,000.
But in terms of how many soldiers are in this particular operation, Yohann Michel, a research analyst who worked on the IISS report, said Russia had an estimated 200,000 troops in and around Ukraine.
As for fighter jets, armored vehicles, missiles, Russia generally has more of everything.
For example, Russia has more than 15,857 armored fighting vehicles, compared to 3,309 in Ukraine.
It has more than 10 times as many planes: 1,391 versus Ukraine's 128, and 821 helicopters versus Ukraine's 55, if Navy planes are included.
And while Russia has 49 submarines, Ukraine has none, according to the IISS.
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