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| Fadel Senna/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images |
Himars can reach twice as far behind enemy lines; ‘a stick in the wheel’ of Moscow’s war effort
American-supplied high-tech rocket launchers have begun arriving on the front line in eastern Ukraine. Already they are shifting the balance of power in the fierce artillery duel being fought with Russian forces, Ukrainian officers say.
For more than a month, a Russian field headquarters not far from here was frustratingly beyond the range of Lt. Valentyn Koval’s Soviet-era artillery battery, he said. That changed last week, when Lt. Koval’s unit got a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars.
Under cover of darkness, his unit drove the truck-mounted rocket launcher into position, punched in coordinates and pressed the launch button. Six 200-pound rockets slammed into the Russian position, largely destroying it, said Lt. Koval, who commands two Himars batteries.
The Russian base was one of about 10 high-value positions Lt. Koval says Ukraine has hit in the two weeks since taking charge of the systems, the most sophisticated weaponry Washington has supplied to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.
Ukrainian soldiers operating Himars say they have doubled their reach into Russian-held territory with greater precision and less risk to themselves. Kyiv officials say such weaponry is their best hope to defeat the Russians in what has become a grueling war of attrition.
“These Himars are very powerful. They allow us as much as possible to put a stick in their wheel,” 22-year-old Lt. Koval said about the Russian forces. “It’s a huge advantage for us. Russia has nothing comparable.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| REUTERS/Gleb Garanich |
Hundreds of Ukrainian troops have completed military training in Britain, including on the Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) the British government is supplying to help counter Russian artillery tactics.
Media were invited to film Ukrainian troops loading and firing 105mm light guns during exercises in Salisbury, southern England - one part of a British-led programme that has been undertaken by more than 450 Ukrainian armed forces with support from New Zealand. The MLRS systems were also shown in use.
The training is part of a wide-ranging international support package following Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, as the West seeks to help Ukraine repel Russian forces by providing increasingly advanced weapons systems and skills to use them.
Moscow says it is conducting a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it of "fascists". Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia is waging an unprovoked war of aggression.
"It's a force multiplier," Captain James Oliphant of the Royal Artillery, who was involved in the three-week MLRS training element, told reporters. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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