Experts believe that while additional US aid can help Ukraine fight back, more is still needed.
A Ukrainian soldier holding a Javelin anti-tank missile system during exercises in 2021
The very presence of the American-made weapons "causes panic" among Russian troops, the Ukrainian military claims - and it is about to get 2,000 more of them. Besides Javelin missiles, the most powerful weapons include 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, once famously used to shoot down Soviet planes in Afghanistan.
It is a "significant development" and addresses previous shortfalls, according to John Herbst, a former US ambassador in Kyiv. "If you give them a variety of anti-tank systems, it provides them with multiple opportunities to punch through whatever particular defensive armour protection systems that tank has," he said.
The system has been seen in conflicts around the world since 1981. It was most famously used in Afghanistan, where US-supplied Stingers helped bring down hundreds of Russian aircraft and helicopters during the Soviet occupation.Ukrainian Ministry of Defence image of a Russian helicopter being shot down by its forces early in March.
Officials in Slovakia have expressed a willingness to send the systems to Ukraine, provided they receive replacements. Two other Nato allies - Greece and Bulgaria - also reportedly have the systems. He noted that the Soviet Union provided both aircraft and pilots to North Vietnam to operate against US aircraft without starting a wider confrontation.The US isn't alone in providing military aid to Ukraine. At least 30 other countries have provided help, including €500m from the European Union, a historic first.
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