Tanks and their big guns get all the attention, but Russia's smaller cannons are wreaking havoc against Ukrainian troops

• International attention has been drawn to tank warfare in Ukraine.
• Tanks have big guns, but medium-caliber cannons on other armored vehicles can be just as deadly.
• Those smaller cannons have "shaped combat" for both Russian and Ukrainian forces, one expert says.

While tanks and their big guns have been getting the lion's share of attention in Ukraine, another weapon is proving equally deadly.

Medium-caliber cannon — the 20-mm to 40-mm cannon found on infantry fighting vehicles, air-defense vehicles, and other platforms around the world — have been wreaking damage against infantry and other targets.