Ukrainian forces continue to launch attacks deep into the Russian Federation and into Russian-occupied territories. A video has appeared in the media.
Powerful ATACMS Missiles Arrive in Ukraine, Devastate Russian Training Ground
A video has appeared in the media showing an attack on a Russian training ground in the occupied part of the Luhansk region. The attack was carried out using MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles supplied by the United States.
Ukraine continues to attack Russian positions in Russian-occupied territories, as well as deep within the Russian Federation.
One of the latest targets was a Russian training ground located in the occupied part of the Luhansk region. Three ATACMS missiles carrying cluster warheads hit the training ground. ISW analysts, in one of their latest reports, assessed that the delivery of ATACMS long-range missiles in sufficient numbers will allow Ukrainian forces to disrupt Russian logistics and threaten Russian airfields deep in the rear.
The drone footage shows a large concentration of Russian personnel and the damage caused by three missiles with cluster warheads. There were about 80 people and trucks on the training ground. One of the missiles hit directly into a gathering of Russian army soldiers. The footage also shows thick smoke rising in several places.
The area attacked by the Ukrainians is about 78 kilometers from the front line. However, it is not known exactly when the Ukrainian troops destroyed the Russian training ground.
Radio Svoboda has published satellite images showing the effects of missile strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Russian military airfield in the city of Dzhankoy in occupied Crimea on the night of April 30. According to journalists, the satellite recorded damage to military equipment at the airfield, most likely the Russian S-300/S-400 air defense system consisting of launchers and radars.
The words of aviation expert Anatoly Khrapchinsky were also quoted, who claims that the airfield in Dzhankoy is one of the largest bases for Russian helicopters, and also serves as a military transport hub for transporting both equipment and ammunition.
The United States secretly transferred ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers to Ukraine, including them in a $300 million aid package that Joe Biden approved on March 12, writes Reuters, citing an anonymous American official. According to him, Ukraine first used these missiles on April 17, when it struck a military airfield in occupied Crimea. The Reuters interlocutor claims that the Biden administration has long doubted the transfer of missiles with a range of up to 300 km to Ukraine. The Pentagon feared a weakening of the American military arsenal, as well as the fact that Ukraine would use these missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia.
According to a report by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), ATACMS supplied to Ukraine by the United States can weaken Russian logistics and threaten airfields and warehouses of the Russian Federation. However, they will be of operational importance for Ukraine if these strikes are reinforced by the ground actions of the Defense Forces.
"Deliveries of ATACMS long-range missiles in sufficient numbers will allow Ukrainian forces to disrupt Russian logistics and threaten Russian airfields deep in the rear, although months of delays could give the Russian military time to offset the potential operational impact that ATACMS would have on Ukraine," - reads the report.