The US-made Javelin anti-tank systems have been praised for their effectiveness by Washington officials and have been turned by Western Media into a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance in the conflict with Russia. But a commander of the Ukrainian marines, who ended up being captured during the fighting for Mariupol, has revealed to RT that the hardware doesn’t really live up to the claims.
“The Javelins didn’t prove useful, especially in urban warfare,” Colonel Vladimir Baranyuk, the commander of Ukraine’s 36th Naval Infantry Brigade, said.
“We couldn’t even launch one. I think it’s completely useless in an urban environment, as something always gets in the way,” he explained.
Baranyuk’s unit was also armed with Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs), supplied by Britain, but these also had their flaws, according to the officer.
“As for the NLAW missile launchers, well, we used them more often than the Javelins, but it has its own issue with the battery draining in cold conditions, making it impossible to launch,” he said.