What did Javelins and a new operation mean for Donbas?
A look back at the last days of April 2018, when Ukraine received US anti-tank missiles and a new operation replaced the ATO.
What had changed for Ukraine's security by 3 May 2018? Two developments from the final days of April framed the question for anyone watching the country's defence policy.
On 30 April 2018, Ukraine was reported to have received Javelin (FGM-148) anti-tank missile systems from the United States. The same day, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the United States had completed a delivery of the systems to Ukraine.
Also on 30 April 2018, the Joint Forces Operation began in Donbas, taking the place of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, known by its Ukrainian acronym ATO.
Two announcements, one date
The two reports arrived together. One concerned equipment and a bilateral relationship with Washington; the other concerned the name and framework of the military effort in eastern Ukraine. Reports from the time did not tie the two to each other, and the delivery and the new operation are best read as separate events that happened to share a date.
By 3 May 2018, both were part of the public record. The delivery was confirmed by the U.S. State Department, which described it as completed. The change from the ATO to the Joint Forces Operation was reported as taking effect on the same day in Donbas.
Looking back, the first days of May 2018 are a useful marker: a point at which Ukraine's military arrangements in the east and its defence ties with the United States were both being described in new terms.
