--- title: The Weirdest Weapons of the Ukrainian War description: "When we think of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, one iconic piece of hardware springs to mind: the infamous, ever-reliable AK, and while it is certainly apt that the most ferocious post-Soviet conflict should come to be defined by the most iconic Soviet firearm, it is far from the only weapon to see service on the frontlines of the conflict.\n\nMany of these are quite expected and normal things; M16s donated by the US as well as Dragunovs pulled from Soviet stockpiles and the like, but some of them are unexpected to the point of being downright bizarre – and it is exactly those weapons we are interested in today!\n\nSo, join us today as we examine six of the weirdest weapons from the conflict!\n\n## The Maxim Gun\n\nThe Russo-Ukrainian War is often dubbed 'the first 21st century war', a description intended to represent various new technological aspects of warfare coming together in their first major conflict. This description is apt in many ways, but in others, it could not be further from the truth, as some weapons in the conflict are quite literally antiques.\n\nChief among them would be the Maxim Gun, a machine gun originally designed back in 1884. This weapon, the first true machine gun, was revolutionary for its time, delivering a volume of fire so heavy, accurate, and reliable, that it completely outmatched anything that came before. Naturally then, the major powers of the day raced to adopt the weapon for themselves, with Imperial Russia being no exception, who duly adopted it in August 1910, dubbing their variant the PM1910. It remained in service in the Soviet period, until it was eventually deemed obsolete post World-War II, after which they were all lathered in grease, placed into storage crates, and secreted in warehouses across the Soviet Union.\n\nThis left 35,000 Maxim's in Ukraine following the collapse of the union in 1991, and with them still being perfectly functional machine guns, it was deemed necessary to press them back into service following Russia's initial invasion in 2014, with them being officially readopted in 2016, over 60 years after they were initially deemed obsolete.\n\nOne might be tempted to dismiss these revived Maxims as nothing but relics of a bygone era pressganged into service during a time of national crisis, but this would be incorrect, because surprisingly it seems to be performing very well. The water-cooled design of the Maxim, while certainly cumbersome compared to modern air-cooled designs, allows it to achieve a sustained rate of fire that those modern machine guns simply cannot match, making it a perfect weapon for situations where mobility is a minimal priority, but volume of fire is a maximum one, such as in trenches or on vehicles.\n\nAs if the sight of a 19th century machine gun on a 21st century battlefield wasn't bizarre enough, the Ukrainians have also taken to modifying their Maxims with a plethora of modern attachments. Take this example, which has been modified with a suppressor, some kind of AR like stock, a relatively meaty looking optic, and a 'normal' pistol grip and trigger (as opposed to the push button operator it originally had).\n\nBut the ingenuity doesn't stop there, as the Ukrainians have also created dual and quad mounts for their Maxims. These mounting systems may look a bit ridiculous, but they are actually ingenious contraptions, as the extra volume of fire, coupled with the Maxims near unmatched capabilities for sustained fire, have proven to be exceptional at handling low flying drones – the operator simply has to weld their finger to the trigger, and correct their fire until the drone disappears, rather than having to interrupt their fire to prevent the barrel(s) overheating.\n\nNow, this intersection of new and old is certainly interesting, but the Maxim is only one of many antique weapons that have found their way to the frontlines of Ukraine, so now, let's bring our discussion of the Maxim to a close and look at another example – the MP40!\n\n## The MP40\n\nThe MP40 was Germany's go-to submachine gun for most of World War II. Firing from an open-bolt, and largely constructed from stamped steel, it was a simple and easily mass-produced weapon designed to satisfy the German war machines insatiable demand for submachine guns without sacrificing reliability or quality. To this end it was successful, and following its introduction in 1940, operators often lauded the merits of the weapon.\n\nThe Soviet Union captured tens of thousands of MP40s as it drove the Germans back to Berlin, and as we saw when we looked at the Maxim, the Soviets were hardly ones to let perfectly serviceable firearms go to waste, and so, at the end of the war, the captured MP40s were put into storage - just in case they were ever needed. Naturally then, these stocks of MP40s, just like the Maxims, became ripe for the picking when war came to Ukraine.\n\nBut unlike the Maxim, which was formally adopted back into the service by the Ukrainian military, no such process appears to have taken place for the MP40, and its return to service appears to have been on a much more ad-hoc basis, with caches of them being liberated and pushed into service as and when the situation demands it. It being a localised process also means we have significantly less information to work with, with our only real sources being the occasional photos of the weapon that find their way to social media – photos such as this one.\n\nOriginally uploaded on the 22nd of July 2022, the photo shows a member of the Donbas People's Militia holding an MP40, which is claimed to have been taken from recently surrendered Ukrainian forces. We have no idea whether this origin is true, because we only have the uploaders claim to work with, but it does at least appear credible, as the soldier in the image seemingly has no pouches on his assault vest that could accommodate MP40 magazines – very much implying it isn't his issued weapon.\n\nAnother such photo was uploaded on the 21st of March 2022. This one claimed to be showing a selection of weapons captured from Ukrainian defenders during the Battle of Hostomel Airport, and on the left we can clearly see an MP40. As with the previous photo, we have no supplementary evidence to garner further insight from, so we are left only able to speculate. But with this photo being uploaded so close to the outbreak of hostilities, it seems reasonable to assume that this one was taken from stores on an ad-hoc basis as we initially asserted.\n\nSo really, we are left scratching our heads when it comes to the MP40. We know that some are in circulation in Ukraine, and we know their likely source, but beyond that there are few solid conclusions we can come to.\n\nBut the MP40 is not the only WWII era submachine gun to find its way to the frontlines of Ukraine, so now let's move on to discuss another one: the venerable Thompson.\n\n## The Thompson\n\nThe Thompson Submachine Gun, colloquially known as the \"Tommy Gun,\" was America's premier submachine gun during World War II. First produced in 1921, it was predominantly constructed from expensive milled steel and utilised finely machined parts, making it a Rolls-Royce of a machine gun that had no expense spared in its design and construction. It has achieved a fame that few firearms can match, thanks to its service in World War II, its use by Gangster's in the prohibition era, and the many movies chronicling both of those things… but how did it get to Ukraine?\n\nThat question is much harder to answer for the Thompson than it was for the MP40, and many possibilities exist, with there being no clear answer. The American's did send 137,729 Thompson's to the Soviets as part of Lend-Lease, meaning that they could have been put into storage only to later re-emerge just like the Maxim and MP40. This is certainly a credible explanation, but unlike with the MP40, we cannot assume this to be wholly true, because the Thompson has a habit of reliably appearing in every world conflict in notable quantities, implying an intentional worldwide proliferation beyond simple convenient circumstances. For example, here are Thompsons that found their way to Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.\n\nAs for specific evidence for their proliferation in Ukraine, this video was posted on the 10th of April 2022, and shows Chechen Russians displaying a cache of weapons they claim to have captured from recently defeated Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, at the bottom of which can be seen a Thompson. There is also this photo, which appeared on a pro-Russian telegram chat on the 13th of May 2022, again taken in Mariupol.\n\nThe emergence of at least two Thompson's in the same city, at around the same time does at least serve to indicate some kind of reasonably widespread proliferation, be it acquisition from a former Soviet cache, or an arms shipment from elsewhere, but beyond that, there isn't much more we can ascertain from these sources, leaving us to scratch our heads and make educated guesses once again.\n\n## The PPS\n\nThe PPS, one of the lesser appreciated firearms of World War II, was a Soviet submachine gun designed in Leningrad in 1942, when an ever-tightening joint German, Italian, and Finnish siege created an insatiable need for cheap and cheerful firearms that could be produced within the besieged city. The result was a simple but deadly weapon that only took three or so hours to manufacture, thanks in large part to its largely stamped steel construction, and the omission of any and all creative flair or quirkiness from its design.\n\nThanks to this simplicity, over 2,000,000 of them were produced by the end of the war, and like the Maxim, they soldiered on in the post-war world, eventually being usurped by the more opulent and advanced AK series of rifles – you know something is crude when an AK seems advanced by comparison! Then, they too were put into storage across the Soviet Union… just in case.\n\nNaturally then, they have come out of hiding to serve once again on the Ukrainian frontlines, but like the MP40, it does not appear as though their re-emergence has been a widespread initiative, with it instead seeming to be an ad-hoc case-by-case thing to arm militias and reserve units when more modern alternatives are unavailable. We are also able to assert this with some reasonable certainty in this instance, because unlike the MP40 there is no shortage of photos of the PPS in use, allowing us to note recurring trends and patterns in where we see it.\n\nThe first photo of interest comes from the 25th of February 2022, only one day after the Russian Invasion. On the left we can clearly see a PPS in the hands of an irregular combatant. The fact that this photo emerged so soon vindicates our hypothesis of them being procured on an ad-hoc basis, because within the first 24 hours of the invasion the Kyiv government almost certainly had more pressing concerns than distributing caches of old PPSs. Given the date of this image, it is also possible that this PPS was a criminal firearm already in circulation at the time of the invasion, one whose owner decided to use it for more patriotic purposes, but ultimately, we have no way of confirming this hypothesis.\n\nAnother interesting photo of a PPS emerged on a pro-Ukrainian telegram channel in December 2022. We mustn't get carried away with this photo, because with the PPS (along with a similarly aged SVT-40) being held by significantly better equipped regular troops, it may be tempting to conclude that the PPS has found its way to first-line service in Ukraine, but alas, there are a few give aways in this image that tell us to temper our conclusions. For starters, the soldier with the PPS does not appear to be wearing pouches that would handily hold its magazines, and similarly, the soldier on the right can clearly be seen with AK74 magazines, not magazines for an SVT-40. So clearly, these are not their issued weapons, more likely, the two men pictured simply came across them, thought they were cool, so stopped to take a quick photo. But this does at least tell us that the PPS is out there in circulation, again, likely with irregular units.\n\nThen there is this photo, if you have been following the war at all, you have probably seen this photo, likely being reported as being from the current hostilities. Unfortunately, it is nothing of the sort; this photo is chronically misreported, and in fact was taken all the way back in 2014. Despite its age however, this photo still has utility. As it features a pro-Russian Donbas separatist, and we lack later photos of such forces using the PPS, it at least tells us that the weapon has been in use with Russian forces at some point, and it therefore stands to reason that it still is – because based on the pattern of firearms usage we have seen thus far, why wouldn't it be?\n\nSo, with our examination of the PPS done, let's move on and look a weird weapon that is much, much newer.\n\n## The F2000\n\nThe FN F2000 made its debut in 2001. Developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal, it was intended to be a new rifle for a new millennium, incorporating a swath of new and innovative features that would firmly raise the bar and set a new standard going forwards. Its most distinctive feature is its bullpup configuration, a design that situates the gun's action and magazine well behind the trigger, providing for a more compact firearm without sacrificing barrel length. Normally such firearms are not ambidextrous, as the configuration places the ejection port right at the back of the rifle, and therefore right next to the face of the operator if fired from the wrong hand, but the F2000, as the innovative trailblazer it was intended to be, incorporated a unique forward facing ejection port, completely bypassing this problem. Other advanced features include a nearly completely sealed system that meant it could withstand levels of dirt and punishment that would leave an AK feeling nervous, as well as a polymer construction that greatly reduced its weight.\n\nBut it was not meant to be, the F2000 was a complete sales flop, and the rifle of the future quickly became a rifle of the past. Most of the unsold rifles sat gathering dust in storage, only to see the light of day in May 2022 when the Belgian government announced plans to send 10,000 rifles to Ukraine, and so came cap in hand to FN to see what they had on hand. Naturally, this was a great chance for FN to get rid of some of its old stock, and so an unknown number of F2000s were packaged up and sent over to Ukraine.\n\nNotably, all the F2000's pictured in Ukraine thus far have all been 'standard' models, which can be identified by a give-away integrated optic, implying that neither the Belgian government nor FN is wanting to get rid of their best stock just yet.\n\nIt is also possible that Ukraine has been supplied F2000 rifles from Slovenia, the only country to adopt the F2000 as its service rifle, but this is highly unlikely for two reasons. Firstly, Slovenia only purchased 6,500 of them to equip its modestly sized army, so it is unlikely that it has any to spare, and secondly, the variant used by Slovenia is the F2000S, which sports an easy to recognise picatinny rail perched atop it.\n\nSo, we have seen both the old and the new weird weapons that have found their way to the Ukrainian frontlines, now let's move on and look at the improvised.\n\n## The RPG Mortar\n\nA mortar is a simple indirect fire weapon. It consists of little but a hollow tube with a firing pin at the bottom. Its projectile is (typically) a fin-stabilised explosive which is dropped down the tube, which then hits the bottom, hitting its primer against the aforementioned firing pin, which then propels the projectile out of the tube at a steep angle, after which it will eventually run out of energy, drop back down to earth, and detonate. The utility of such a weapon is obvious – firing while out of line of sight can only be a big and clever idea after all, but it can also be inaccurate, so what if you wanted to fire a mortar round directly at the enemy for better accuracy?\n\nYou'd weld it to an RPG motor of course, something that both the Ukrainians and Russians have been doing in earnest.\n\nThis is not a new idea, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been known to craft RPG-mortar hybrids for decades now, and similarly Communist insurgents were known to fashion such weapons during the Central American Crisis, but it does seem to have really come into its own during the current conflict, with such weapons now appearing at a previously unimaginable rate.\n\nInterestingly, the fusion of mortars and RPGs isn't as dangerous as it might seem at first glance. The secret lies in the intricate fuse mechanisms built into many mortars. These fuses are acceleration-sensitive, meaning they need to hit a specific speed before they're primed and able to detonate. This threshold is usually set that the round won't detonate if the rocket motor fails and it lands close to the operator, or goes off course and hits something unexpected, similarly close to the operator.\n\nBut what of their specific use on the Ukrainian frontlines? As evidence we have these photos showing them being test fired by Ukrainian forces in March of this year. We also have plenty of footage of them being used in combat, such as this instance from May of this year showing two RPG-Mortars being fired from an improvised tandem mounting, and this footage from June showing one being discharged from a traditional shoulder held launcher in an urban environment. These sources are just the tip of the iceberg, and thus we are able to ascertain that RPG-Mortar hybrids are reasonably common in Ukrainian use, but what about the Russians?\n\nWell, this is where it gets interesting, because there is evidence of them being using during the Separatist insurgency that preceded the Russian invasion, such as this photo which emerged in May 2016, but we were unable to uncover any photographs or footage that showed them being used since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Of course, this could just mean we were unable to find them, but more likely, it would suggest that they have fallen out of use, for whatever reason.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- The Russo-Ukrainian War features a mix of modern and antique weapons, including the Maxim Gun, a machine gun from 1884.\n- Ukrainian forces have adapted the Maxim Gun with modern attachments and mounts, using it effectively against drones.\n- World War II-era submachine guns like the MP40 and Thompson have resurfaced in Ukraine, often used on an ad-hoc basis.\n- The PPS, a simple and deadly Soviet submachine gun from 1942, is being used by irregular units in Ukraine.\n- The FN F2000, a modern but failed rifle design, has been sent to Ukraine by Belgium to support their defense efforts.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is the Maxim Gun and how is it used in the Ukrainian War?\n\nThe Maxim Gun is a machine gun originally designed in 1884. It was revived for use in the Ukrainian War due to its high sustained rate of fire, making it effective in situations like trench warfare or vehicle-mounted use. Ukrainians have also modified it with modern attachments like suppressors and optics.\n\n### How did the MP40 submachine gun end up in the Ukrainian War?\n\nThe MP40 was captured by the Soviet Union during World War II and stored. These stockpiles were later used in Ukraine on an ad-hoc basis, with caches being liberated and pushed into service as needed.\n\n### What is the Thompson Submachine Gun and how did it appear in Ukraine?\n\nThe Thompson Submachine Gun, also known as the 'Tommy Gun,' was America's premier submachine gun during World War II. Its appearance in Ukraine is less clear, but it may have come from Lend-Lease stocks or other global proliferations.\n\n### What is the PPS submachine gun and how is it used in the Ukrainian War?\n\nThe PPS is a Soviet submachine gun designed in 1942. It has been used in Ukraine on an ad-hoc basis, often by irregular combatants or militias when more modern weapons are unavailable.\n\n### What is the FN F2000 and how did it end up in Ukraine?\n\nThe FN F2000 is a bullpup assault rifle developed by FN Herstal in 2001. It was a commercial failure and many were stored. The Belgian government sent 10,000 of these rifles to Ukraine in May 2022.\n\n### What is an RPG Mortar and how is it used in the Ukrainian War?\n\nAn RPG Mortar is an improvised weapon that combines a mortar shell with an RPG rocket motor for direct fire. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used these hybrids, with Ukrainians using them more frequently since the full-scale invasion began.\n\n### Why is the Maxim Gun effective in certain situations?\n\nThe Maxim Gun's water-cooled design allows for a sustained rate of fire that modern air-cooled machine guns cannot match, making it ideal for situations where mobility is less important but a high volume of fire is needed, such as in trenches or on vehicles.\n\n### How have Ukrainians modified the Maxim Gun for modern use?\n\nUkrainians have modified the Maxim Gun with modern attachments such as suppressors, optics, and custom stocks. They have also created dual and quad mounts to increase the volume of fire, making it effective against low-flying drones.\n\n### What makes the FN F2000 unique among bullpup rifles?\n\nThe FN F2000 features a forward-facing ejection port, making it ambidextrous and safe to fire from either shoulder. It also has a nearly completely sealed system and a polymer construction that reduces weight.\n\n### Why did the FN F2000 fail commercially?\n\nDespite its innovative features, the FN F2000 was a commercial failure. Most of the unsold rifles were stored until the Belgian government decided to send them to Ukraine in 2022.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original Side Projects video: The Weirdest Weapons of the Ukrainian War](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRRJaetz3OQ)\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Arquebus_Krigshistorisk_Museum_Norway._WW2_Battle_of_Berlin_1945_diorama_exhibition._USSR_Soviet_Red_Army_Uniforms_weapons_equipment_PM1910_Maxim_machine_gun_T-34_tank_mannequins_ruins_debris_etc_%282023%29_IMG_5504.jpg) by Wolfmann / openverse, by-sa.\n\n## Related Coverage" url: https://sideprojects.pub/article/weirdest-weapons-ukrainian-war.md canonical: https://sideprojects.pub/article/weirdest-weapons-ukrainian-war datePublished: 2026-06-17 dateModified: 2026-06-17 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://sideprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler publisher: Side Projects image: "https://media.sideprojects.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/iRRJaetz3OQ/hero.jpg" type: NewsArticle contentHash: c288bf43c96f44e02b1c69e73a3f420f64173ff4ed6f278ca5b3c2e915f5eabd tokens: 5557 summaryUrl: https://sideprojects.pub/article/weirdest-weapons-ukrainian-war.md.summary.md --- When we think of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, one iconic piece of hardware springs to mind: the infamous, ever-reliable AK, and while it is certainly apt that the most ferocious post-Soviet conflict should come to be defined by the most iconic Soviet firearm, it is far from the only weapon to see service on the frontlines of the conflict. Many of these are quite expected and normal things; M16s donated by the US as well as Dragunovs pulled from Soviet stockpiles and the like, but some of them are unexpected to the point of being downright bizarre – and it is exactly those weapons we are interested in today! So, join us today as we examine six of the weirdest weapons from the conflict! ## The Maxim Gun The Russo-Ukrainian War is often dubbed 'the first 21st century war', a description intended to represent various new technological aspects of warfare coming together in their first major conflict. This description is apt in many ways, but in others, it could not be further from the truth, as some weapons in the conflict are quite literally antiques. Chief among them would be the Maxim Gun, a machine gun originally designed back in 1884. This weapon, the first true machine gun, was revolutionary for its time, delivering a volume of fire so heavy, accurate, and reliable, that it completely outmatched anything that came before. Naturally then, the major powers of the day raced to adopt the weapon for themselves, with Imperial Russia being no exception, who duly adopted it in August 1910, dubbing their variant the PM1910. It remained in service in the Soviet period, until it was eventually deemed obsolete post World-War II, after which they were all lathered in grease, placed into storage crates, and secreted in warehouses across the Soviet Union. This left 35,000 Maxim's in Ukraine following the collapse of the union in 1991, and with them still being perfectly functional machine guns, it was deemed necessary to press them back into service following Russia's initial invasion in 2014, with them being officially readopted in 2016, over 60 years after they were initially deemed obsolete. One might be tempted to dismiss these revived Maxims as nothing but relics of a bygone era pressganged into service during a time of national crisis, but this would be incorrect, because surprisingly it seems to be performing very well. The water-cooled design of the Maxim, while certainly cumbersome compared to modern air-cooled designs, allows it to achieve a sustained rate of fire that those modern machine guns simply cannot match, making it a perfect weapon for situations where mobility is a minimal priority, but volume of fire is a maximum one, such as in trenches or on vehicles. As if the sight of a 19th century machine gun on a 21st century battlefield wasn't bizarre enough, the Ukrainians have also taken to modifying their Maxims with a plethora of modern attachments. Take this example, which has been modified with a suppressor, some kind of AR like stock, a relatively meaty looking optic, and a 'normal' pistol grip and trigger (as opposed to the push button operator it originally had). But the ingenuity doesn't stop there, as the Ukrainians have also created dual and quad mounts for their Maxims. These mounting systems may look a bit ridiculous, but they are actually ingenious contraptions, as the extra volume of fire, coupled with the Maxims near unmatched capabilities for sustained fire, have proven to be exceptional at handling low flying drones – the operator simply has to weld their finger to the trigger, and correct their fire until the drone disappears, rather than having to interrupt their fire to prevent the barrel(s) overheating. Now, this intersection of new and old is certainly interesting, but the Maxim is only one of many antique weapons that have found their way to the frontlines of Ukraine, so now, let's bring our discussion of the Maxim to a close and look at another example – the MP40! ## The MP40 The MP40 was Germany's go-to submachine gun for most of World War II. Firing from an open-bolt, and largely constructed from stamped steel, it was a simple and easily mass-produced weapon designed to satisfy the German war machines insatiable demand for submachine guns without sacrificing reliability or quality. To this end it was successful, and following its introduction in 1940, operators often lauded the merits of the weapon. The Soviet Union captured tens of thousands of MP40s as it drove the Germans back to Berlin, and as we saw when we looked at the Maxim, the Soviets were hardly ones to let perfectly serviceable firearms go to waste, and so, at the end of the war, the captured MP40s were put into storage - just in case they were ever needed. Naturally then, these stocks of MP40s, just like the Maxims, became ripe for the picking when war came to Ukraine. But unlike the Maxim, which was formally adopted back into the service by the Ukrainian military, no such process appears to have taken place for the MP40, and its return to service appears to have been on a much more ad-hoc basis, with caches of them being liberated and pushed into service as and when the situation demands it. It being a localised process also means we have significantly less information to work with, with our only real sources being the occasional photos of the weapon that find their way to social media – photos such as this one. Originally uploaded on the 22nd of July 2022, the photo shows a member of the Donbas People's Militia holding an MP40, which is claimed to have been taken from recently surrendered Ukrainian forces. We have no idea whether this origin is true, because we only have the uploaders claim to work with, but it does at least appear credible, as the soldier in the image seemingly has no pouches on his assault vest that could accommodate MP40 magazines – very much implying it isn't his issued weapon. Another such photo was uploaded on the 21st of March 2022. This one claimed to be showing a selection of weapons captured from Ukrainian defenders during the Battle of Hostomel Airport, and on the left we can clearly see an MP40. As with the previous photo, we have no supplementary evidence to garner further insight from, so we are left only able to speculate. But with this photo being uploaded so close to the outbreak of hostilities, it seems reasonable to assume that this one was taken from stores on an ad-hoc basis as we initially asserted. So really, we are left scratching our heads when it comes to the MP40. We know that some are in circulation in Ukraine, and we know their likely source, but beyond that there are few solid conclusions we can come to. But the MP40 is not the only WWII era submachine gun to find its way to the frontlines of Ukraine, so now let's move on to discuss another one: the venerable Thompson. ## The Thompson The Thompson Submachine Gun, colloquially known as the "Tommy Gun," was America's premier submachine gun during World War II. First produced in 1921, it was predominantly constructed from expensive milled steel and utilised finely machined parts, making it a Rolls-Royce of a machine gun that had no expense spared in its design and construction. It has achieved a fame that few firearms can match, thanks to its service in World War II, its use by Gangster's in the prohibition era, and the many movies chronicling both of those things… but how did it get to Ukraine? That question is much harder to answer for the Thompson than it was for the MP40, and many possibilities exist, with there being no clear answer. The American's did send 137,729 Thompson's to the Soviets as part of Lend-Lease, meaning that they could have been put into storage only to later re-emerge just like the Maxim and MP40. This is certainly a credible explanation, but unlike with the MP40, we cannot assume this to be wholly true, because the Thompson has a habit of reliably appearing in every world conflict in notable quantities, implying an intentional worldwide proliferation beyond simple convenient circumstances. For example, here are Thompsons that found their way to Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. As for specific evidence for their proliferation in Ukraine, this video was posted on the 10th of April 2022, and shows Chechen Russians displaying a cache of weapons they claim to have captured from recently defeated Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, at the bottom of which can be seen a Thompson. There is also this photo, which appeared on a pro-Russian telegram chat on the 13th of May 2022, again taken in Mariupol. The emergence of at least two Thompson's in the same city, at around the same time does at least serve to indicate some kind of reasonably widespread proliferation, be it acquisition from a former Soviet cache, or an arms shipment from elsewhere, but beyond that, there isn't much more we can ascertain from these sources, leaving us to scratch our heads and make educated guesses once again. ## The PPS The PPS, one of the lesser appreciated firearms of World War II, was a Soviet submachine gun designed in Leningrad in 1942, when an ever-tightening joint German, Italian, and Finnish siege created an insatiable need for cheap and cheerful firearms that could be produced within the besieged city. The result was a simple but deadly weapon that only took three or so hours to manufacture, thanks in large part to its largely stamped steel construction, and the omission of any and all creative flair or quirkiness from its design. Thanks to this simplicity, over 2,000,000 of them were produced by the end of the war, and like the Maxim, they soldiered on in the post-war world, eventually being usurped by the more opulent and advanced AK series of rifles – you know something is crude when an AK seems advanced by comparison! Then, they too were put into storage across the Soviet Union… just in case. Naturally then, they have come out of hiding to serve once again on the Ukrainian frontlines, but like the MP40, it does not appear as though their re-emergence has been a widespread initiative, with it instead seeming to be an ad-hoc case-by-case thing to arm militias and reserve units when more modern alternatives are unavailable. We are also able to assert this with some reasonable certainty in this instance, because unlike the MP40 there is no shortage of photos of the PPS in use, allowing us to note recurring trends and patterns in where we see it. The first photo of interest comes from the 25th of February 2022, only one day after the Russian Invasion. On the left we can clearly see a PPS in the hands of an irregular combatant. The fact that this photo emerged so soon vindicates our hypothesis of them being procured on an ad-hoc basis, because within the first 24 hours of the invasion the Kyiv government almost certainly had more pressing concerns than distributing caches of old PPSs. Given the date of this image, it is also possible that this PPS was a criminal firearm already in circulation at the time of the invasion, one whose owner decided to use it for more patriotic purposes, but ultimately, we have no way of confirming this hypothesis. Another interesting photo of a PPS emerged on a pro-Ukrainian telegram channel in December 2022. We mustn't get carried away with this photo, because with the PPS (along with a similarly aged SVT-40) being held by significantly better equipped regular troops, it may be tempting to conclude that the PPS has found its way to first-line service in Ukraine, but alas, there are a few give aways in this image that tell us to temper our conclusions. For starters, the soldier with the PPS does not appear to be wearing pouches that would handily hold its magazines, and similarly, the soldier on the right can clearly be seen with AK74 magazines, not magazines for an SVT-40. So clearly, these are not their issued weapons, more likely, the two men pictured simply came across them, thought they were cool, so stopped to take a quick photo. But this does at least tell us that the PPS is out there in circulation, again, likely with irregular units. Then there is this photo, if you have been following the war at all, you have probably seen this photo, likely being reported as being from the current hostilities. Unfortunately, it is nothing of the sort; this photo is chronically misreported, and in fact was taken all the way back in 2014. Despite its age however, this photo still has utility. As it features a pro-Russian Donbas separatist, and we lack later photos of such forces using the PPS, it at least tells us that the weapon has been in use with Russian forces at some point, and it therefore stands to reason that it still is – because based on the pattern of firearms usage we have seen thus far, why wouldn't it be? So, with our examination of the PPS done, let's move on and look a weird weapon that is much, much newer. ## The F2000 The FN F2000 made its debut in 2001. Developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal, it was intended to be a new rifle for a new millennium, incorporating a swath of new and innovative features that would firmly raise the bar and set a new standard going forwards. Its most distinctive feature is its bullpup configuration, a design that situates the gun's action and magazine well behind the trigger, providing for a more compact firearm without sacrificing barrel length. Normally such firearms are not ambidextrous, as the configuration places the ejection port right at the back of the rifle, and therefore right next to the face of the operator if fired from the wrong hand, but the F2000, as the innovative trailblazer it was intended to be, incorporated a unique forward facing ejection port, completely bypassing this problem. Other advanced features include a nearly completely sealed system that meant it could withstand levels of dirt and punishment that would leave an AK feeling nervous, as well as a polymer construction that greatly reduced its weight. But it was not meant to be, the F2000 was a complete sales flop, and the rifle of the future quickly became a rifle of the past. Most of the unsold rifles sat gathering dust in storage, only to see the light of day in May 2022 when the Belgian government announced plans to send 10,000 rifles to Ukraine, and so came cap in hand to FN to see what they had on hand. Naturally, this was a great chance for FN to get rid of some of its old stock, and so an unknown number of F2000s were packaged up and sent over to Ukraine. Notably, all the F2000's pictured in Ukraine thus far have all been 'standard' models, which can be identified by a give-away integrated optic, implying that neither the Belgian government nor FN is wanting to get rid of their best stock just yet. It is also possible that Ukraine has been supplied F2000 rifles from Slovenia, the only country to adopt the F2000 as its service rifle, but this is highly unlikely for two reasons. Firstly, Slovenia only purchased 6,500 of them to equip its modestly sized army, so it is unlikely that it has any to spare, and secondly, the variant used by Slovenia is the F2000S, which sports an easy to recognise picatinny rail perched atop it. So, we have seen both the old and the new weird weapons that have found their way to the Ukrainian frontlines, now let's move on and look at the improvised. ## The RPG Mortar A mortar is a simple indirect fire weapon. It consists of little but a hollow tube with a firing pin at the bottom. Its projectile is (typically) a fin-stabilised explosive which is dropped down the tube, which then hits the bottom, hitting its primer against the aforementioned firing pin, which then propels the projectile out of the tube at a steep angle, after which it will eventually run out of energy, drop back down to earth, and detonate. The utility of such a weapon is obvious – firing while out of line of sight can only be a big and clever idea after all, but it can also be inaccurate, so what if you wanted to fire a mortar round directly at the enemy for better accuracy? You'd weld it to an RPG motor of course, something that both the Ukrainians and Russians have been doing in earnest. This is not a new idea, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been known to craft RPG-mortar hybrids for decades now, and similarly Communist insurgents were known to fashion such weapons during the Central American Crisis, but it does seem to have really come into its own during the current conflict, with such weapons now appearing at a previously unimaginable rate. Interestingly, the fusion of mortars and RPGs isn't as dangerous as it might seem at first glance. The secret lies in the intricate fuse mechanisms built into many mortars. These fuses are acceleration-sensitive, meaning they need to hit a specific speed before they're primed and able to detonate. This threshold is usually set that the round won't detonate if the rocket motor fails and it lands close to the operator, or goes off course and hits something unexpected, similarly close to the operator. But what of their specific use on the Ukrainian frontlines? As evidence we have these photos showing them being test fired by Ukrainian forces in March of this year. We also have plenty of footage of them being used in combat, such as this instance from May of this year showing two RPG-Mortars being fired from an improvised tandem mounting, and this footage from June showing one being discharged from a traditional shoulder held launcher in an urban environment. These sources are just the tip of the iceberg, and thus we are able to ascertain that RPG-Mortar hybrids are reasonably common in Ukrainian use, but what about the Russians? Well, this is where it gets interesting, because there is evidence of them being using during the Separatist insurgency that preceded the Russian invasion, such as this photo which emerged in May 2016, but we were unable to uncover any photographs or footage that showed them being used since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Of course, this could just mean we were unable to find them, but more likely, it would suggest that they have fallen out of use, for whatever reason. ## Key Takeaways - The Russo-Ukrainian War features a mix of modern and antique weapons, including the Maxim Gun, a machine gun from 1884. - Ukrainian forces have adapted the Maxim Gun with modern attachments and mounts, using it effectively against drones. - World War II-era submachine guns like the MP40 and Thompson have resurfaced in Ukraine, often used on an ad-hoc basis. - The PPS, a simple and deadly Soviet submachine gun from 1942, is being used by irregular units in Ukraine. - The FN F2000, a modern but failed rifle design, has been sent to Ukraine by Belgium to support their defense efforts. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Maxim Gun and how is it used in the Ukrainian War? The Maxim Gun is a machine gun originally designed in 1884. It was revived for use in the Ukrainian War due to its high sustained rate of fire, making it effective in situations like trench warfare or vehicle-mounted use. Ukrainians have also modified it with modern attachments like suppressors and optics. ### How did the MP40 submachine gun end up in the Ukrainian War? The MP40 was captured by the Soviet Union during World War II and stored. These stockpiles were later used in Ukraine on an ad-hoc basis, with caches being liberated and pushed into service as needed. ### What is the Thompson Submachine Gun and how did it appear in Ukraine? The Thompson Submachine Gun, also known as the 'Tommy Gun,' was America's premier submachine gun during World War II. Its appearance in Ukraine is less clear, but it may have come from Lend-Lease stocks or other global proliferations. ### What is the PPS submachine gun and how is it used in the Ukrainian War? The PPS is a Soviet submachine gun designed in 1942. It has been used in Ukraine on an ad-hoc basis, often by irregular combatants or militias when more modern weapons are unavailable. ### What is the FN F2000 and how did it end up in Ukraine? The FN F2000 is a bullpup assault rifle developed by FN Herstal in 2001. It was a commercial failure and many were stored. The Belgian government sent 10,000 of these rifles to Ukraine in May 2022. ### What is an RPG Mortar and how is it used in the Ukrainian War? An RPG Mortar is an improvised weapon that combines a mortar shell with an RPG rocket motor for direct fire. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used these hybrids, with Ukrainians using them more frequently since the full-scale invasion began. ### Why is the Maxim Gun effective in certain situations? The Maxim Gun's water-cooled design allows for a sustained rate of fire that modern air-cooled machine guns cannot match, making it ideal for situations where mobility is less important but a high volume of fire is needed, such as in trenches or on vehicles. ### How have Ukrainians modified the Maxim Gun for modern use? Ukrainians have modified the Maxim Gun with modern attachments such as suppressors, optics, and custom stocks. They have also created dual and quad mounts to increase the volume of fire, making it effective against low-flying drones. ### What makes the FN F2000 unique among bullpup rifles? The FN F2000 features a forward-facing ejection port, making it ambidextrous and safe to fire from either shoulder. It also has a nearly completely sealed system and a polymer construction that reduces weight. ### Why did the FN F2000 fail commercially? Despite its innovative features, the FN F2000 was a commercial failure. Most of the unsold rifles were stored until the Belgian government decided to send them to Ukraine in 2022. ## Sources - [Original Side Projects video: The Weirdest Weapons of the Ukrainian War](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRRJaetz3OQ) - [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Arquebus_Krigshistorisk_Museum_Norway._WW2_Battle_of_Berlin_1945_diorama_exhibition._USSR_Soviet_Red_Army_Uniforms_weapons_equipment_PM1910_Maxim_machine_gun_T-34_tank_mannequins_ruins_debris_etc_%282023%29_IMG_5504.jpg) by Wolfmann / openverse, by-sa. ## Related Coverage