KYIV ($1=37.14 Ukrainian Hryvnias) — A video showing a new integration of the Ukrainian armed forces has appeared on social media and websites following the war in Ukraine. It is a matter of successfully mounting a BGM-71 TOW-guided ATGM on a Humvee vehicle. The anti-tank missile and the vehicle are American-made.

Sources say the video was shot in the Kharkiv region during Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive. The video is short, but the operator was able to capture the moment the anti-tank missile was fired from the roof of the Humvee. The video is one of the rare cases that show the use of BGM-71 TOW in Ukraine.

Anti-tank missiles play a vital role in the Ukrainian counter-offensive. They are a successful weapon against the Russian T-64, T-72, and T-80 tanks. In addition to the BGM-71 TOW, thousands of Javelin, NLAW, AT-4, Panzerfaust 3, M141 SMAW-D, M72 ECLAW/LAW, Carl-Gustav, MILAN 2, APILAS, and Alcot-100 anti-tank systems have been donated to Ukraine.

About BGM-71 TOW-guided ATGM

The BGM-71 TOW is an American tube-launched and optically tracked anti-tank missile system. The system was designed by Hughes Aircraft, but Raytheon is currently the company that manufactures the weapon. BGM-71 TOW is a combat-proven system. It has participated in almost all military conflicts in the world from the 1960s to the present day.

It is not clear which of the eight variants was delivered to Ukraine. But the technical characteristics and combat effectiveness are approximately the same. The system weighs from 18 kg to 23 kg. The operational range is up to 4,200 meters, and its warhead is a conventional high explosive and weighs between 4 kg and 7 kg.

BGM-71 TOW can penetrate the armor of different thicknesses – from 430 mm to 900 mm armor thickness. The speed of the launched anti-tank guided missile is 278 m/s. The guidance system of the BGM-71 TOW missile consists of Optically tracked, wire-guided, or wireless radio-guided depending on the version used.

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, 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. The invasion followed also by targeted tanks entering via 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.