ATACMS rain on the training of Russian troops in the open field: video

Ukrainian armed forces used long-range weapons supplied by the United States to target a training ground used by Russian troops, it was reported in a video showing the aftermath of the strike.

Drone footage shared on social media purports to show explosions at the site in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, which is partly occupied by Russia.

Troops and military equipment can be seen on the ground before explosions occur simultaneously, kicking up dust balls. The undated video has not been independently verified, and News week emailed the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

“Destruction of enemy personnel by striking the training ground with an ATACMS cluster,” the message from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Division Tivaz said next to the video.

The American-built ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) manufactured by Lockheed Martin can be fired from M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and can strike targets up to 180 miles away, giving Ukrainian forces the possibility of hitting. well behind the Russian front lines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first confirmed in October 2023 that his forces had used ATACMS on the battlefield against Russia in a “very precisely executed” operation, without giving further details. .

In May, drone footage showed dozens of Russian soldiers being targeted by ATACMS in Ukraine’s Luhansk region.

The latest clip was also shared by the X War Translated account, which cited Russian channel Telegram Military Informer’s comment, “the enemy is using a system similar to the Russian drone + tactical missile complex.”

“Fortunately, the scale of these strikes is hampered by insufficient missile supplies from Western countries, as well as the still-in-force ban on deep strikes on Russian territory,” Military Informer added.

The X account CJ posted alongside the same video clip: “What does US aid to Ukraine look like? Removal of squares in occupied Ukraine,” adding: “The Russian training camp is hit by hundreds of submunitions from an ATACMS.

“Unprotected troops in the open stand little chance due to the dispersion and volume of shrapnel,” the message added. Military analyst Rob Lee also described how there had been “a Ukrainian ATACMS cluster munition strike against Russian soldiers at a training range”.

However, the pro-Ukrainian account X Special Kherson Cat suggested that another US-supplied weapon could have been used. “Some Ukrainian Telegram channels (or actually many) are very keen to label every HIMARS cluster munition strike as an ATACMS strike, forgetting that the M30 cluster missile exists,” the message reads.

Next to it were four videos of strikes, including one allegedly taking place in Zaporizhzhia, which the post said was “more likely” to be an M30 cluster munitions strike because ATACMS has “more bombs” and would cover a larger radius.