US President Joe Biden's surprise trip to Kiev sent a message that the US fully supports Ukraine and will continue to do what is necessary to strengthen Kiev's ability to resist Russia's year-long invasion. The visit is both symbolic and important.
It comes after the Munich Security Conference had already shown European support for Ukraine and also amid concerns that China could help Russia in its war.
Russia's response
This angered Russia and also sent a message that its aggression will continue. According to foreign media, an incredibly powerful blow, comparable to a nuclear one, was received by the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Avdiivka.
He also emphasizes that the strikes against the positions of the Ukrainian army in the Avdiivka region caused real interest. This is due to the fact that the impact of unknown weapons turned out to be so strong that the fire mushroom rose to a height of more than 150 meters and was compared to the effect of using nuclear weapons, although it is clear that they are talking about a conventional, but extremely powerful warhead.
As a result of the strongest explosion, a huge column of fire and smoke was formed, which rose to a height of about 120-150 meters, which, for obvious reasons, led to extremely serious destruction.
The type of weapons used in the attack on the positions of the Ukrainian army in Avdiivka was not specified, however, apparently, we are talking about tactical or even strategic type missile weapons, and the version of a direct hit of a projectile on an ammunition depot is also not excluded, since the explosion proved to be extremely powerful indeed.
Mysterious weapon on Ukrainian soldiers
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, France has been providing a variety of weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It includes the 'Akeron MP' anti-tank missile system, the procurement of this weapon was not disclosed until recently.
According to a Ukrainian media outlet, the details were revealed by the Vice-President of the National Defense and Armed Forces Committee of France, Jean-Louis Thierault. He pointed out that French-supplied weapons, including the Akeron as well as CAESAR shells and Mistral missiles, are "doing a very good job" in Ukraine.
The Akeron MP anti-tank missile was adopted by the French army in 2017 and was supposed to replace the Milan and Javelin ATGMs. It is designed for both infantry use and mounted on various combat vehicles. The Akeron MP has a firing range of 5 km.
According to the media outlet, France also has a number of decommissioned AMX-10P infantry fighting vehicles and is preparing to send 25 of them to Ukraine.
This vehicle was developed in 1965–1972 and mass-produced from 1972 to 1994. In 2008, the French Army began a process of replacing the old AMX-10P with a new VBCI wheeled combat vehicle, which was completed in 2015.
Public data shows that the total number of AMX-10Ps in French stocks as of 2011 is 331 units. Most of them were destroyed, but there are still some combat-ready and these could be supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The AMX-10P's main armament is a two-man Toucan II turret with an M693 F1 20mm autocannon and a 7.62mm machine gun. There are also versions with 25mm or 90mm cannon and ATGM launchers. The variant armed with the 20 mm cannon. it can destroy a target at a distance of 1,500 meters with a rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute.
The vehicle's armor protects against 7.62mm bullets, and the frontal armor also withstands 14.5mm rounds from a KPVT machine gun and 23mm rounds from a ZU-23-2 gun. In 2006-2008, about one hundred AMX-10Ps received an armor upgrade and were equipped with stronger ones.
