As the sun rose on a shell-shocked Ukraine, local forces began proving their mettle against invading Russian forces- and addressing concerns that Russian antitank and anti-air countermeasures would outmatch the weapons used by the Ukrainian military.
Images and video are surfacing of Ukrainian forces getting an upper hand over Russian forces as they attempt to put up resistance to what has become a full-scale invasion.
From Russian gunships and fixed-wing assets being plucked from the sky to Russian armored assets being knocked out and infantry surrendering to local forces, the Ukrainians are documenting every victory they can manage against a much larger force.
In one report by Michael A. Horowitz, the video shows a Russian Ka-52 pilot ejecting and parachuting into wetlands after his gunship was downed by Ukrainian forces near Vyshhorod.
Russian armored assets with improvised anti-missile cages appear to have made the modifications in vain, as the tell-tale damage from Javelin anti-tank missiles can be seen on destroyed tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, with bodies littered around the wrecks.
In November, Russian tanks first appeared in Crimea with the fabricated cages -seemingly an attempt to upgrade their armor capabilities.
The Drive reported the “screen-like structures added to the turret tops of Russian tanks are crude metal structures, similar to slat armor, that are clearly intended to provide protection against attacks from directly above.”
As concerns grew that Russia would invade, Ukraine trained for the possibility of attacking these tanks with cages -even posting a video to Facebook of a successful strike from over a mile away with a US-made Javelin missile.
Days before Russia officially invaded, numerous memes circulated on social media warning of the Russian tanks’ vulnerability to US anti-tank missiles.
On Thursday, it appears Ukrainian forces were able to fulfill that prophecy by stopping Russian columns near Kharkov.
A video released by an official Ukrainian military Twitter shows what appears to be the remnants of Russian armored vehicles with likely damage from anti-tank missiles.
Под Харьковом расстреляна колона российской армии pic.twitter.com/cdXnmFeRJf
— ІнфоВійська України/Ukraine (@i_army_org) February 24, 2022
Elsewhere, social media video shows Russian troops lying prostrate on the ground after being captured by Ukrainian forces, their patches, and uniforms indicative of their affiliation.
It is unknown how the nationwide siege will ultimately turn out, and information will be updated for accuracy as it comes in.
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