Yuri Lyamin Amongst various arms and munitions recovered from pro-Russian separatists by Ukrainian forces in recent days, were ZRP-2 Tropa (‘Path’) man-portable mine-clearing line charges. ЗРП stands for ‘заряд разминирования переносной’, or ‘portable mine clearance charge’. The ZRP-2 is designed to create a breach in an antipersonnel minefield under combat conditions. Some modern mines have
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Armament Research Services (ARES) was provided earlier today with images showing the remnants of several artillery rockets in Slavyansk, Ukraine. These images show the nose cones and cargo sections belonging to 220 mm 9M27K series cluster munitions. Remains of 9M27K type rockets have previously been photographed in Syria, as identified by ARES here.
Boris Karpa (MicroBalrog) Pro-Russian separatists in Lugansk have in their possession a 9K35 Strela-10 launch vehicle, likely captured from Ukrainian stores. In the below videos we can see the vehicle moving through Lugansk along with several BMP infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tk4Miv7EwU The Strela-10 (NATO reporting name: SA-13 Gopher) is a vehicle-based short-range surface-to-air missile
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Video and images circulating on social media networks and in various online forums suggest that 9M55K cargo rockets containing 9N235 fragmentation submunitions may have been used in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Armament Research Services (ARES) has previously documented these munitions in Syria. The 9M55K rocket is fired from the the 9K58 Smerch (Смерч; ‘Tornado’) 300
N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Michael Smallwood In a statement released yesterday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged proof of the illicit transfer of Russian produced Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS) into the hands of pro-Russian separatist fighters in Ukraine. According to the Ministry, outer packaging for a 9M39 MANPADS missile was recovered on 6 June
Update 4/6/14: The OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) released a statement yesterday which included some observations on this attack: In Luhansk the situation remained volatile. On 2 June, shortly after 15:00 hrs, rockets hit the occupied regional administration building. Based on the SMM’s limited observation these strikes were the result of non-guided rockets shot from an
Michael Smallwood Images emerging from Ukraine following fighting in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on the 25th of May show alleged pro-Russian Ukrainian separatist fighters in possession of Russian-made MRO-A rocket launchers. The MRO is a self-contained, disposable single shot 72.5 mm rocket launcher, sharing similarities with the larger, 93 mm RPO family to provide a lighter
N.R. Jenzen-Jones An interesting video was released earlier today by the Ukraine Military TV YouTube channel. The video shows pro-Russian separatists being captured by Ukrainian forces, and documents the man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) allegedly seized with these combatants. The image above shows a Polish made PPZR (Przenośny Przeciwlotniczy Zestaw Rakietowy; portable anti-aircraft missile system
N.R. Jenzen-Jones The seizure of former president Viktor Yanukovych’s estate in Mezhyhirya, an hour’s drive from Kiev, turned up a range of interesting arms and munitions. Nearby, a variety of ammunition was recovered from a private lake, including the cartridges shown in the image above. These are 5.66 x 39 mm rounds for the Russian made APS (Автомат
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Recent images from the Russian seizure of the Crimean peninsula have highlighted the range of weaponry employed by Russian forces and combatants variously identified as either pro-Russian militias or private security contractors. Kater reports indicate they may have been members of Russia’s GRU special operations forces. Amongst the weapons observed is the GM-94,
