Rockets and Missiles Over Ukraine

In the Russian-Ukrainian war, both sides depended heavily on rockets and missiles. Some of these date from Soviet times and some are very modern, being deployed in warfare for the first time.

The outbreak of the civil war in the east of Ukraine in 2014 showed that rockets and missiles, beside the artillery, are among the decisive factors in both regular Ukrainian military, and paramilitary nationalistic formations as well as in the separatists’ bodies. For eight years hardly any day passed without these weapons being fired.

On 24 February 2022, Russia unleashed a ‘limited military operation’ (as President Putin defined it) with a barrage of new equipment – cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles – pounding Ukrainian targets. The West responded with a pledge to supply modern weapons to the otherwise outdated Ukrainian military to counter the Russian threat, especially armour. Ukraine was turned into a vast depot for NATO ammunition and weapons including short-range air defence systems and antitank rockets. Western stocks gradually shrank while numerous cargo lanes transported these weapons to Poland to be hauled by trucks and railways to the Ukrainians. In the meantime, Russia pounded these locations and large quantities of the Western aid disappeared in flames and explosions – as yet more equipment pourerd into Ukrainian hands. The sheer amount is hard to estimate but large quantities were captured by the Russians and occasionally turned against the former owners.

This book is a comprehensive guide to all missiles and rockets used by both sides as well as their effect on both military and civilian targets, including Russian ship-borne weapons and anti-ship missiles used so effectively by Ukraine against the Russian cruiser Moskva. Besides the numerous ex-Soviet, Ukrainian, and Russian anti-armour rockets (RPGs) and missiles, of particular interest are the anti-armour missiles and rockets supplied by NATO which includes Javelin and British NLAW, and Brimstone.

The war in Ukraine was a full-scale conventional war between the two largest armies in Europe. But without modern weapons, Ukraine’s ability to hold out for an extended period was limited. Its only hope was help by the West. Yet NATO supplies were precisely tracked and often destroyed immediately after unloading. Nevertheless, the Russian-Ukrainian war allowed manufactures and military experts to assess the true effectiveness of their weapons in the most realistic setting of all – the battlefield.

In his examination of the weaponry used in the conflict, the author toured the Ukraine as the conflict unfolded, to photograph and report on the first major war of the twenty-first century.