this is one of the few public clips of a
ukrainian soldier firing a next
generation light anti-tank weapon an
n-law
and this is what it can do
it means just one ukrainian can take out
a russian tank or armored vehicle
thousands of n-laws were supplied by the
uk and luxembourg while numerous
countries have sent other kinds of
anti-tank weapons
we counted up all of the military-aid
promised ukraine in just the first week
of war
the european union and 27 countries
committed more than a billion dollars
worth of weapons and supplies for the
fight
what could have taken months of
bureaucratic approvals political
maneuvering and logistical coordination
happened in a matter of days
so why did so many countries race to arm
ukraine
what did they send
and what is it all worth
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russia invaded ukraine on february 24th
within 24 hours lithuania poland france
estonia and the united states all
announced military aid for ukraine
biden approved 350 million dollars in
military aid
that became the largest single transfer
of arms from u.s warehouses to another
country ever
it was the start of a flood of military
supplies sent to ukraine in just the
first week of war as protests around the
world called for an end to the invasion
and the internet erupted over claims
that the u.s offered a different kind of
help to ukrainian president vladimir
zelinsky the chance to be evacuated
zielinski reportedly answered i need
ammunition not a ride
on february 26th 10 more countries
announced they would send aid including
stinger missiles helmets machine guns
and fuel
many shipments broke country's
long-standing traditions of not sending
weapons to active war zones
berlin reversed course to send a
thousand anti-tank weapons and 500
surface-to-air missiles
on february 27th six more countries
announced millions worth of military
shipments including 5 000 anti-tank
weapons
by the fifth day a russian military
convoy was headed directly towards kiev
for the first time in its history the
european union financed and purchased
weapons for a country outside its
borders to the tune of 505 million
dollars
europeans saw a much bigger danger in
the invasion the target is not only
ukraine
the target is the stability in europe
and the whole of the international peace
order
and we will hold president putin
accountable for that
by the end of the first week the us and
nato had sent more than 17 000 anti-tank
weapons like this swedish made at4
principles
some of what the eu and us sent are
newer weapons like javelin and stinger
missiles
but much of the military equipment
shipped by european countries is older
weapons from the soviet era
when germany said we're gonna deliver a
couple of thousand air defense missiles
those were things which they had
inherited from the from the gdr
so these are things which are 30 years
old or more
it's something of a benefit since
ukrainian troops were largely trained on
soviet-era weapons
at the end of the first week russian
forces had seized a city in the south
but ukrainians were holding on to the
capital he thought he could roll into
ukraine and the world would roll over
instead he met with a mall a wall of
strength he never anticipated or
imagined
in the months leading up to the current
conflict the united states sent military
equipment in anticipation of prolonged
street fighting
three weeks after russia's invasion the
u.s promised ukraine another 1 billion
dollars in weapons and supplies
the u.s also announced 6.5 billion
dollars in military spending on the
crisis which includes sending more
troops to europe
there were already 9 000 u.s troops
stationed on the polish side of the
border
and other nato members have doubled up
on troops in eastern europe
it's a significant show of strength from
a block of allies whose history helps
explain how this conflict was sparked in
the first place
nato or the north atlantic treaty
organization formed after world war ii
12 countries banded together to counter
the soviet union during the cold war
it was a mutual defense pact attacking
one nato country meant attacking all of
them
ukraine isn't a part of nato but after
the fall of the soviet union in 1991 he
gave up thousands of nuclear weapons in
exchange for a guarantee of security by
the us uk and russia
starting in 1999 nato brought in
countries that had been part of the
former soviet bloc like poland and
hungary
the continued expansion has made putin
furious
he's made his case by claiming western
leaders promised not to expand nato even
though there never was an agreement not
to expand
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and back in 2008 after nato's secretary
general promised georgia and ukraine
that they could one day become members
putin invaded georgia
six years later he annexed part of
ukraine and has since demanded that
ukraine be blocked from ever joining
nato
biden has said that the us would fight
back if any nato country was attacked
but that u.s troops will not enter
ukraine
so without nato troops or air power can
this military aid turn the tide
ukraine's military spending was roughly
one-tenth of russia's in 2020 and their
military counts 209 000 active members
less than a quarter the size of russia's
armed forces
the tank war is also uneven
that's why javelin and n-law missiles
have become such an important part of
the war
russian tanks have serious problems
dealing with these things so you run
around in russian tank units you will
think where are those javelins and
when are they going to hit me
ukrainians have used them to destroy
numerous tanks and armored vehicles so
far but it's in the air where russia
truly dominates
russia has more than 1500 jets
to ukraine's 100
and that's what makes stinger missiles
so crucial
it's a surface-to-air shoulder-fired
weapon that can take down low-flying
fighter jets or attack helicopters
but stingers can only do so much
ukrainian president vladimir zelinski
asked nato for a no-fly zone
something nato rejected completely
yep
not territorial
but to enforce a no-fly zone nato would
have to fire on russian planes that
violate the zone
nato would also need to destroy russian
surface-to-air missile defenses on the
ground all of that could risk a broader
war with russia
one month after the start of the war
ukraine still controlled kiev
there's much talk of ukraine's
resilience
but the question remains if they can
stand up to russia alone even with all
this extra firepower
you