A Ukrainian HIMARS attack destroyed a Russian military column in occupied Donetsk, causing many casualties. Some initial reports suggest that over 20 soldiers were killed and many wounded in the strike that happened near Makiivka.
The industrial city is located just east of Donetsk and has been used as a logistical hub by Russia’s military since the February 2022 full-scale invasion. The convoy consisted of military trucks and buses carrying army personnel and was spotted by reconnaissance units.
Ukrainian artillery units then unleashed a devastating HIMARS barrage using missiles armed with cluster munitions.
Photos and video clips posted by Russian soldiers to social media channels showed the extent of the damage inflicted.
At least one bus was completely burned out, with charred debris lying scattered around it.
Military trucks nearby were also hit and showed signs of fragmentation damage consistent with cluster munitions.
The US-supplied HIMARS have allowed Ukraine to consistently conduct long-range strikes with precision accuracy, that have inflicted devastating damage.
In another recent HIMARS attack, a Russian 2S7 Pion self-propelled cannon was obliterated.
The HIMARS dropped a M31 GMLRS rocket on the Russian artillery piece, which detonated just above the target, destroying it completely.
The artillery unit costs US$ 3 million (£2.2m), while the missile that destroyed it costs around US$168,000 (£124k), according to the blogger OSINTtechnical.
It comes as Russia claims to have taken more ground in Donetsk and the Sumy regions of Ukraine.
The Defence Ministry said the villages Koptevo and Komar in eastern Donetsk had been captured.
They also claimed Putin’s forces had taken control of the village of Yablunivka in Sumy, about 9 kilometres (five miles) from the Russian border.
However, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv’s forces are “gradually pushing back the occupiers” in the border region.
