Ukrainian artillery reportedly destroyed several Russian vehicles, including six Uragan Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which can fire unguided missiles over a wide area, causing extreme destruction. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry posted a harrowing video on Twitter showing several Russian vehicles receiving direct hits from Ukrainian artillery.
In the battle for the Donbas, artillery has become one of the most important combat weapons and has been used by both sides with devastating effect.
As the war continues, Russia uses more and more artillery to force its troops through the Ukrainian lines.
However, Ukraine has used its own artillery, largely supplied by NATO, to try to avert the Russian attack. The video reportedly shows the destruction caused by an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) supplied by the United States, although this has not been confirmed.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said: “We are balancing the ratio of artillery. Six MLRS ‘Uragan’, transport vehicles, fuel tanks, fire control vehicles, trucks, armored cars that were destroyed by Ukrainian artillery in the Donetsk region. Professionalism against brute force.”
Multiple rocket launch systems are considered particularly brutal as they often use unguided and imprecise ammunition. These “dumb” bombs are said to have killed dozens of civilians during the conflict.
The widespread use of these systems during the conflict has prompted groups like Amnesty International to accuse Moscow of war crimes.
Joanne Mariner, director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program said: “A hallmark of these brutal sieges is Russia’s relentless, indiscriminate attacks, which inflict extremely devastating damage over time.”
The video shows several Russian vehicles being hit with explosives and completely destroyed. While it’s unclear where the video was taken, Ukrainian officials have confirmed intense artillery fighting continues near the largely destroyed city of Severodonetsk – a key Russian target.
A key adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, said fighting in the city continued over the weekend in a video speech.
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Ukrainian officials have said their forces had never intended to take full control of the city, but instead made it extremely expensive for Moscow in preparation for a counter-attack.
Now that Ukraine has withdrawn from Severodonetsk, it is likely to set up a defense in the nearby city of Lysychansk, across the Siverskyi Donets River.
Russian forces have been destroyed in the past while attempting to cross the river, and Ukraine is likely hoping that the river’s natural defenses will allow their artillery to hit Russian forces as they try to cross.
During an attempted crossing last month, Russian troops reportedly lost an entire tactical battalion group — about 70 vehicles and up to 1,000 soldiers reportedly killed.
If Ukraine can repeat its previous successes, there may be some hope of stopping the Russian troops before they can cross over to reach Lysychansk.