The sophisticated artillery that Western countries have started to give Ukraine could make all the difference
2 drone has its own catchy song. But no weapon has been more important in the war in Ukraine than artillery–and it is likely to become even more significant still in the coming weeks.
The basic idea behind artillery is simple enough. The rifles carried by soldiers and the guns mounted on tanks employ what is known as direct fire: they hit things they can see. Artillery involves indirect fire, which means the target can lie over the other side of a hill—even tens of miles away. It spans everything from compact mortars to 30-tonne guns on tracks, capable of raining devastating fire onto large areas.
In the first hours of the war, Ukraine was able to use its artillery to target lightly armed Russian paratroopers whooutside Kyiv. Although artillery initially helped Russian ground forces advance south towards Kyiv, their reliance on paved roads meant that they could be spotted by Ukrainian special forces and drones, who fed the targets back to Ukrainian guns. As Russian forces got closer to the capital, they came under overwhelming fire—and had no answer to it.
Artillery has long played a prominent role in the fighting in Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine that Russia first invaded in 2014. Ukraine has used the subsequent eight years to build trenches, fortifications and other defensive positions. Breaking through them will require heavy firepower.