KYIV ($1=36.92 Ukrainian Hryvnias) — The combat debut in Ukraine of the British short-range mobile air defense system Stormer HVM [high velocity missile] has been documented. This is reported by field sources, sharing photos on social media. According to them, the British system shot down two Russian Orlan-10 UAVs.
There is no information on when and where it happened. The sources also claim that the Stormer HVM also shot down one Su-25 fighter, but there is no evidence of this. The Stormer HVM used one of two missiles – the Starstreak or the Martlet.
Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile [SAM]. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been operating this missile almost since the beginning of the war but in the MANPADS version. London announced that it would deliver Starstreak to Kyiv in early March this year. The Starstreak HVM is laser beam ammo reaching Mach 4 flight speed and features impact delay.
Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface [ASM], surface-to-air [SAM], and surface-to-surface missile [SSM]. The operational range of this missile is up to 8 km and it travels at a speed of Mach 2. The Starstreak HVM and Martlet are developed and manufactured by Thales Air Defence.
Britain has agreed to donate an undisclosed number of combat vehicles from the Alvis Stormer family of military armored vehicles. Sources claim that at least six of this unknown number are Stormer HVMs. The delivery was made at the end of July. In April, Ukrainian soldiers were trained in Britain to work with the system.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 21 February 2022, the Russian government claimed that Ukrainian shelling had destroyed an FSB border facility on the Russia Ukraine border. Moscow also claimed that it had killed 5 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to cross into Russian territory. Ukraine denied being involved in both incidents and called them a false flag.
On the same day, the Russian government formally recognized the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR as independent states. According to Putin not only in their de-facto controlled areas, but the Ukrainian Oblasts as a whole. Putin ordered Russian troops, including tanks, to enter the regions.
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces previously concentrated along the border. The invasion followed by targeted airstrikes of military buildings in the country, as well as tanks entering via the Belarus border.
Russia has so far not recognized the invasion of Ukraine as a “war”, although that is exactly what it is, claiming that it is a “special military operation”. According to the UN, in which Russia has its permanent representation, for military action to be defined as a “special military operation”, it must have a resolution issued by the UN. There is no such resolution, which automatically defines the military actions of the Russians as an invasion and war against the citizens of Ukraine.
