In early June, the US Department of Defense said it would send four HIMAR systems to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against attack. He said that Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in it first, which will take about three weeks. In recent days, there have been several social media posts from Ukrainian military sources showing HIMARS in action in the country, targeting forces from Russia. One shows vehicles traveling along a road believed to be in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and then the system being used, firing a volley of rockets in a twilight night, released by the official account of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The tweet read in English but also in Ukrainian: “Combat work of HIMARS. Zaporizhzhia Direction. Beautiful, fast, accurate. @DeptofDefense @thejointstaff”. Another, all in Ukrainian, shows the vehicle in operation at night, lighting up the sky as the rockets are fired, while another, from a different source, shows the equipment being loaded with a “cartridge” of six more rockets and their launch tubes. . A tweet from an open source enthusiast calling himself The Cube, who says he has analyzed the scene from which some of the missiles were fired, claims they were aimed at Russian positions around Melitopol airport. HIMARS is believed to have reached the front line in recent days, as on June 22, the Ukrainian armed forces said they were still waiting for the US missile launch system to arrive. It comes as other social media photos released by Ukrainian defense sources increasingly show the use of other Western weapons, such as the French CAESAR 155mm self-propelled heavy artillery. Analysts say that while it could be the beginning of the arrival of some Western weapons that have been promised to Ukraine for several months and that have the potential to turn the tide of the war, it will take more before it starts to make a difference. Read more: What will happen in Donbas now that Luhansk has fallen to Russia? Forbes McKenzie, a defense intelligence analyst, told Sky News: “The artillery now going into action: the CAESAR system, a 155mm artillery piece from the French, went into action… the HIMAR system from the US. .. they need a combat mass of 54 to have any real effect. “They can launch six rockets at any time, be in action in 16 seconds, they can shoot, they can sweep, they can survive. It’s the kind of ammunition the Ukrainians will need to deter and defeat the Russians in the coming months. “This was used over the weekend. On the 2nd of July an airfield in the Melitopolis area had a lot of equipment from the Russians. We understand that on the 3rd, this weapon system was used against these aircraft. Image: The HIMAR system prepares to fire. Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “It’s starting to be used, but it will take a period of months to commit properly.” The US Department of Defense, which has promised to send four more HIMARS in the next two weeks, says the missiles supplied to Ukraine have a range of 40 miles. In past use, however, it has been said to be effective up to a maximum range of 300 km (187 mi). Colin Kall, US undersecretary of defense for policy, said in a June 1 Pentagon briefing: “These are precision guidance systems with extended range, for high-value targets, which allows them to keep away from the pressure of Ukrainian forces on the front . “ There have been other unverified claims that HIMARS were used in recent days against a Russian base in the Izyum region. HIMARS is not the only missile launch system being sent to Ukraine. A system called the M270, developed by several NATO countries, including the United Kingdom, is provided by British forces and Norway. It is considered that it has not yet arrived.
