Ukraine set to receive seized Russian arms from Israel's move
The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, met with Sharren Haskel, Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Her proposal involves supplying Ukraine with Russian weaponry seized by the IDF from the stockpiles of Hamas and Hezbollah. Here's what Ukrainians can expect.
Sharren Haskel submitted a bill to the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) regarding the transfer of Russian-made weaponry seized from the arsenals of Hamas and Hezbollah to Ukraine. If the vote is successful, Ukraine will receive a supply of weaponry that is difficult to obtain for Western countries.
Furthermore, the interlocutors emphasised that this initiative will represent an important step in recognising the common threats both countries face. Other issues related to military cooperation between Iran and Russia, which threatens the national security of Ukraine and Israel. The ambassador also stressed that effectively countering this threat is in the mutual interest of both nations.
Hamas arsenal — an ideal source of ammunition for drones
In the case of weapons from Hamas stockpiles, Ukraine will be able to rely on small arms, handheld anti-tank weapons, and artillery in the form of mortars. The discussion is solely about Russian weapons, so it is not known whether Iranian or locally homemade weapons by Hamas will also be included.
Ammunition for Russian rifles will likely be welcome, as the production of certain calibres is limited in Western countries. For instance, PG-7VL grenades for RPG-7 grenade launchers capable of penetrating about 50 centimetres of armour steel or tandem "Yasin" (a copy of PG-7VR) with penetration up to 75 centimetres will be ideally suited for use on anti-tank FPV drones.
In turn, mortar shells will be the ideal payload for "Baba Jaga" type drones capable of carrying even 20 kilograms of cargo. Ukrainians are even capable of recycling unexploded ordnance, so Hamas's homemade weapons could prove helpful.
Hezbollah arsenal — rocket ammunition for rare post-Soviet systems and good anti-tank weapons
The situation looks better with the Hezbollah arsenal, which also includes heavy weapons such as rockets for the BM-21 Grad and BM-27 Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems. Especially for the latter, Ukraine no longer has rockets, and allied Western nations have no source to purchase them.
BM-27 Uragan uses unguided rockets with a 22-centimetre calibre range of about 35 kilometres, although missiles with up to 60 kilometres have also been developed. Each rocket contains a 90-kilogram warhead in a high-explosive fragmentation or cluster version with bomblets, anti-personnel, or anti-tank mines.
Moreover, Ukrainians can count on rockets for BM-21 Grad systems with a range of about 20 kilometres and a fairly extensive assortment of anti-tank-guided missiles. Hezbollah had large stocks of launchers and missiles for systems such as the 9M14 Malyutka, 9K111 Fagot, 9M113 Konkurs, and the new Russian 9M133 Kornet.
With a range of 5 kilometres, the latter can penetrate even 100 centimetres of armour steel behind a single-layer reactive armour. For this reason, they pose a lethal threat to most tanks used in Ukraine. Currently, Ukrainians have significant shortages in modern anti-tank weaponry, and delivery of perhaps several hundred Kornets would greatly help.
