Reuters:
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine tested its Javelin missile systems on Tuesday for the first time since receiving the weapons from the United States to boost its defenses in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists.
Washington has been one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent outbreak of fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region that has killed more than 10,000 people.
Kiev and Washington believe the anti-tank systems will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity. The United States says Javelins cannot effectively be used to take territory, but Russia says supplying them will further destabilize the situation by encouraging the use of force.
