Ukrainians Invent Homemade War Machine to Gun Down Russians

KUPIANSK, Ukraine—In an old garage outside of Kupiansk, a unit of soldiers is turning to the past in their search for weapons to fight off Russian soldiers, as the fate of the eastern city remains in the balance. One inventive unit is modernizing old Soviet-era KS 19 anti-aircraft guns and turning the antiquated machines into fast-moving weapons of destruction that can be used to target dozens of Russian soldiers at a time. With an ingenious act of improvisation and some commercially-available tech, they are turning the Kremlin’s history against the Russian army.

The Soviet Union was once a major arms exporter, spreading its supply of tanks, artillery, air defense systems, and armored personnel carriers throughout the world, but particularly Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. For decades, Ukraine had a supply of weapons left over from the days of their communist shackles that were used both in Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Donbas region and at the beginning of the full-scale war that began on Feb. 24, 2022. As Russia launched attacks from all sides, soldiers and civilian fighters took up arms in any way they could, including with the weapons made by their invading force.

Over time, the Kremlin’s relics were replaced as new Western weapons like Leopard Tanks, American M777s, and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems were introduced to the frontlines. Ukraine has received $100 billion in military aid over the last 21 months of war and has managed to ward off masses of Russian forces stationed throughout their homeland. In areas like Lviv and Kyiv, life has returned to relatively normal as the two-year mark of the war rapidly approaches.

Read more at The Daily Beast.