Ukraine seemed to have turned the tide of its war against Russian invaders after successfully wiping out Russian command posts, logistical hubs, and ammunition depots far beyond the front lines using new weapons systems from allies in the West.
The Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions have all experienced large explosions in the last week. According to a CNN report, the targeting has been very efficient based on data, which includes satellite imagery and analyses by Western analysts.
For months, the Ukrainian military has been pleading with Western allies for long-range, precise artillery and rocket systems. Now that they have them, they are using them effectively throughout the east and south of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military is withholding many details, but Vadim Denysenko, a senior Interior Ministry official, on Wednesday attributed the ruin of Russia's "approximately two dozen warehouses with weapons and stocks of fuel and lubricants" to the weapons that "Ukraine received."
The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) multiple launch rocket system from the US is the best in its type, but the Ukrainians have also obtained M777 howitzers from the US and Canada and Caesar long-range howitzers from France.
Furthermore, the UK has pledged to provide Ukraine M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which are more potent than HIMARS.
HIMARS is a versatile weapon with mobility that makes it difficult to target.
The range of the rockets sent to Ukraine is between 70 and 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). Additionally, they are very accurate due to their GPS guidance systems.
HIMARS' accuracy also means that Ukrainians can worry less about civilian casualties. The guided rockets are accurate to within two to three meters, two defense officials told CNN, allowing the Ukrainians to use far fewer rounds to hit targets precisely at distance.
Russian Forces Suffered Massive Damage
On Monday night, a huge strike against a warehouse appeared to have used the HIMARS in the Kherson region's Nova Kakhovka village. The hit caused extensive damage and additional explosions.
Additionally, there were massive explosions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that sparked other detonations. The same thing occurred last week close to Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia, as well as in Shakhtarsk in Donetsk, the Kherson region, and Donetsk during the weekend.
On social media, unconfirmed video of numerous large explosions was posted.
Mother of god.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) July 11, 2022
Reportedly, a large Russian ammo depot in Nova Kahovka. pic.twitter.com/YsPDkqBnHK
Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov said the need for longer-range weapons continues to outpace the Ukrainians' demand for shorter-range systems, according to a report from Ukrinform. Such weapons are needed more, as the war shifts mainly to an artillery battle, to recapture territories lost since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
Russia Tries To Downplay Successful Ukraine Attacks
However, Russian-appointed officials claimed that the attack destroyed saltpeter warehouses and not armaments facilities. Ukrainian officials dismissed their claim as a lie, per BBC.
Russian media contradicted Ukrainian claims, saying relief or mineral fertilizer depots were the ones attacked.
The Kherson region's new administrator, Vladimir Leontyev, told the Russian Tass news agency that many residents had been rendered homeless and that the city had sustained severe damage. Seven persons were reported missing.
The liberated parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the DPR and the LPR, as well as the territory of Russia, fall under the "possible fire of HIMARS," according to a Russian military reporter Yuri Kotenok, who said that HIMARS poses "a serious threat."
Kotenok noted that the targeting of HIMARS, whether deployed or in transit, needs to be strengthened, as do Russian air defenses.
The Russian journalist said: "If this continues, it is necessary to hit the decision-making centers. Our limitations in retaliatory strikes against the enemy are to some extent incomprehensible to me."
