Armaments used in the Ukrainian conflict 2014–2015

The development of events in Ukraine at the end of 2014 led to the outbreak of armed fighting in Donbas, where virtually all kinds of land forces’ arms were used, not only of Soviet or Russian production but also the latest ones and armaments that had been previously withdrawn from operation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the armaments used during the fighting in the Donbas region, innovations in weaponry and tactics in the period from April 2014 to the middle of February 2015. The study is based on the qualitative analysis of primary source materials from photographs and video clips available in free circulation as well as information shared in online forums (particularly Russian ones) and unstructured interviews with the participants of those events. The findings of the study pertain to the kinds of Soviet and Russian land forces’ armaments in a real combat situation as well as the tactics involved in using them.