Us Agrees To Send More Himars Launchers To Ukraine Weapons Targeting Russian Forces

“HIMARS have already made a HUGE difference on the battlefield,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted on July 9. “More of them as well [U.S.] Ammunition and equipment will increase our strength and help demilitarize the terrorist state,” he wrote, referring to Russia. So it no doubt came as welcome news to Kyiv that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Wednesday that Washington would send four more HIMARS platforms, which, he added, Ukraine “used so effectively and that made such a difference on the battlefield ». Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday. (Alex Brandon/AP) HIMARS strikes were indeed devastating and the Russian military simply has no match for their range, accuracy and mobility. the M31 series missiles delivered with HIMARS have the capability to engage a target within 16 feet at a range of 52 miles. Because it is on wheels, the launcher can be in motion seconds after firing, making it incredibly well protected against Russian counter-batteries. Since the US began supplying HIMARS in late June, the Ukrainians have accomplished three things at once. First, according to Valery Zaluzhny, head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, their use has been an “important factor” in “stabilizing[ing]The front in the Donbas region, where Russia has made slow but definite gains, including the capture of the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysihansk. The situation there, Zaluzhny said, is “complex, tense, but fully under control.” (Contrast that authentic tone with the devastating loss of life reported by Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, just weeks ago, when 100 to 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed a day.) The story continues High Mobility Artillery Missile System, or HIMARS, at Marine Corps Base Camp Jacksonville, NC (Lcpl. Jennifer Reyes/US Marines/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire) Dozens of Russian ammunition depots deep inside occupied parts of Donbas have now gone up in smoke on an almost daily basis in recent weeks, prompting a series of new Twitter memes and war watchers to regularly refer to the arrival of “HIMARS o’ clock.” These strikes were so punitive to Russian efforts to resupply their own artillery systems, which far outnumber those of the Ukrainians, that Moscow announced an operational “pause” in its Donbass campaign on July 7. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered generals to prioritize destroying HIMARS and other long-range artillery during a visit to the front in Ukraine on July 18, a tacit acknowledgment of how significant their impact has been. Second, HIMARS helped Ukraine recapture the strategically vital Snake Island, in the Black Sea, scene of the famous response to a Russian battleship by a beleaguered Ukrainian soldier, “Russian warship, go alone.” Although not directly used against Russian positions on the island, the very presence of HIMARS weapons on the battlefield, combined with Western-supplied anti-ship missiles such as Harpoons, has weighed heavily on Russia’s strategic calculation that maintaining of the island would prove impossible. long term. A senior Ukrainian military intelligence official told Yahoo News that Russia’s withdrawal from Snake Island, which the Kremlin tried to describe as a “goodwill gesture,” showed a “real fear of our new long-range artillery capability.” A satellite image shows smoke rising from Snake Island, off the coast of Ukraine, on June 29. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters) “We have greatly expanded the scope of our operational control of the Black Sea coast and prevented the Russians from conducting amphibious operations in that area,” said the official, who requested anonymity. The official added that Russia’s hasty retreat has yielded an enormous amount of intelligence and material for the Ukrainians. “Our team was able to find ammunition, different types of weapons, combat and personnel documents, and even packaged and ready-to-use aerial reconnaissance systems that the Russians absolutely need,” the official said. Third, HIMARS allowed Kyiv to prepare for an upcoming counteroffensive in the southern region of Kherson, the first major population center to fall to Vladimir Putin’s forces since the Russian invasion began on February 24. On July 11, HIMARS destroyed a Russian command center in the series of strikes on Chornobaivka airfield, killing 12 senior Russian officers, including Major General Artem Nasbulin, chief of staff of the 22nd Army Corps, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a Ukrainian official at the Regional Military administration of Odessa. This is an impressive troika of achievements for any weapon platform in less than a month of operations, especially given how few HIMARS launchers there are in Ukraine. The United States delivered an initial four systems on June 23. In what is now the familiar “proof of concept” model of American security assistance, more were approved once the Ukrainians demonstrated their effectiveness on the battlefield. A Ukrainian military commander with missiles on a HIMARS vehicle in eastern Ukraine. (Anastasia Vlasova for The Washington Post via Getty Images) As of July 20, a total of 16 US-supplied HIMARS systems are either in country or en route, in addition to European equivalents: The Ukrainians have been deliberately ambiguous about how many are active for operational security reasons. The UK has committed six of the M270B1, an even more powerful version of HIMARS, three of which have already arrived, and the Germans have committed three MARS II MLRS, another cousin of HIMARS, due to arrive in late July . In total, Ukraine will soon acquire 25 Western long-range artillery systems. Reznikov, the Ukrainian defense minister, told a July 19 event organized by the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank that Ukraine needs twice that number to deter Russia and quadruple that to mount any successful counterattack . For Ukrainian troops who have long complained about the dominance of Russian artillery in the Donbass, the arrival of HIMARS and its European equivalents will prove a much-needed shot in the arm, Ukrainian military officials say. For Ukrainian civilians, the weapons delivered so far have meant a respite from the relentless slaughter. The United Nations estimates that 4,731 civilians have been killed and 5,900 injured. Originally designed to monitor wildfires, NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) satellite network was used throughout the war by professionals and amateurs to map fires caused by artillery fire. All recent FIRMS data shows a large reduction in Russian activity along the line of contact as its heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers well beyond that line are destroyed in night HIMARS strikes by Ukrainian forces. One of the key features of the HIMARS system is its modular nature, enabling it to launch a range of different missiles. In addition to the capability to launch M31 missiles, the system can launch one of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) largest and most destructive ballistic missiles. An army tactical missile system in action. (US Army via Wikicommons) With a range of up to 186 miles and the same pinpoint accuracy as the M31, the United States had stopped supplying ATACMS to the Ukrainians for fear that they would be used to strike targets inside Russia itself and trigger an escalation that could drag the countries of NATO and Russia in direct conflict. President Biden appeared to rule out the ATACMS mission in Ukraine in a May 31 op-ed in the New York Times, in which he highlighted limits to US military support. “We neither encourage nor enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” he wrote. Lately, however, fears that Ukraine would use long-range artillery to attack targets inside Russia appear to have subsided. Kyiv has stuck to its agreement with Washington not to use HIMARS to strike inside Russia. And Reznikov recently told the Financial Times that he was confident Ukraine would eventually receive the ATACMS tactical ballistic missile. If the US decides to send ATACMS, it could also fundamentally change the course of the war, putting the Kerch Bridge – Russia’s only direct link to the occupied Crimean peninsula – and the Sevastopol Naval Base, home to the fleet of the Black Sea. , in close distance. Kaimo Kuusk, Estonia’s ambassador to Ukraine, told Yahoo News that the Russians are already confused by Ukraine’s long-range firepower, as evidenced by the relocation of a “significant number” of ships in the Black Sea fleet from home port her. Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in southern Russia. “As the Ukrainians advance, Sevastopol will be within reach and Moscow cannot afford another humiliation like the sinking of the Moskva,” Kuusk said, referring to Ukraine’s April 14 sinking of the Russian cruiser by domestically-made anti-ship missiles. South Korea’s military launches a tactical army missile system during a military exercise. (Ministry of Defense via Zuma Press Wire) Major General Volodymyr Havrylov, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, told Yahoo News that the relocation could well be Moscow’s way of hedging its bets against heavier artillery being sent to Ukraine. Asked if the Black Sea Fleet is leaving Crimean ports in anticipation of ATACMS, Havrylov replied: “I think…