Ukraine shows spectacular HIMARS attack in video: only the ammunition is missing

The Ukrainian military shares a video showing American HIMARS missile launchers in action. Kiev praises US weapons, but there is a lack of ammunition.

Kiev – Ukraine is fighting the Russian invasion with weapons from allied countries – including HIMARS from the USA. The mobile artillery rocket system can be seen in action using a video shared by a commander in chief of the Kiev army on Telegram. It was shared on X, formerly Twitter, via the news agency Nexta. This shows the impressive firepower of the weapon.

HIMARS is a US-made missile launcher mounted on a 5-ton truck capable of firing guided missiles in rapid succession. The rocket launcher has been in Ukraine since June 2022. The video shows him during a mission in the Ukraine war.

Commenting on the video, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi wrote: “The HIMARS rocket artillery system effectively destroys enemy equipment and manpower along the entire front line. Crews are constantly on standby as soon as an enemy target appears, with just minutes to load and get into firing position.”

Ukraine deploys US rocket launcher HIMARS: “Always the best time”

Just on Tuesday (January 9, 2024), the Ukrainian military had a video purportedly showing its forces using HIMARS launchers to destroy a Russian TOS-1A “Blazing Sun” missile activator. The article by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) had the headline: “HIMARS time is always the best time!” HIMARS also took a helicopter out of the sky in December, as could be seen in another video.

The US has provided Kiev with 39 HIMARS as part of its various military assistance packages. According to Ukrainian officials, HIMARS is expected to be extremely effective in defending against the Kremlin. The only criticism is the supposedly limited amount of ammunition.

Ukraine War: HIMARS targets targets from up to 300 kilometers away

Phillips O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, wrote in a January 1 report Wall Street Journal published opinion piece that the US had denied the Ukrainians the weapons they needed. According to the professor, Kiev can only attack around 80 kilometers from the front, and only HIMARS can target targets 300 kilometers away.

But this won't work without ammunition: “By depriving the Ukrainians of the ability to launch a sustained, far-reaching campaign against Russia, the government is leaving Kiev without the ability it needs to win,” said O'Brien. Crimea cannot be attacked in this way either, as retired US Lieutenant General Ben Hodges also criticized. “The [Biden-]”The government still appears to be afraid of deploying long-range precision strike capabilities that Ukraine could use against targets inside Russia,” Hodges previously said Newsweek expressed.

Ukraine urgently needs ammunition – also for HIMARS artillery strikes

The Ukrainian military repeatedly emphasizes that it needs a lot more ammunition to defend itself against the Russian war of aggression that has been going on for more than 22 months. The Western allies sometimes have delivery problems.

Since February 24, 2022, Kiev has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression, with which Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin wants to destroy the neighboring country as a state. Ukraine, which is striving to join the EU and NATO, is relying on help from the West in its fight against the invasion.

The US government provided Kiev with additional military aid amounting to 250 million US dollars (around 225 million euros) at the end of December 2023 – but this means that the US funds approved so far have now largely been exhausted. The aid includes, among other things, ammunition – including 15 million rounds for smaller weapons as well as ammunition for air defense or the US multiple rocket launcher of the HIMARS type. “Our assistance has
been critical in supporting our Ukrainian partners in defending their country and their freedom against Russian aggression,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (cgsc with dpa)

Category list image: © Ukrainian military