Amidst Reports that HIMARS Are Finding Targets, Russia Orders Attacks on Ukraine’s Long-Range Weapons

Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu has instructed the country’s Armed Forces to prioritize strikes on Ukraine’s long-range weapons which includes the U.S.-made HIMARS that is blowing up Russian targets effectively.

Moscow claims Kyiv uses these weapons to target residential areas in eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatist republics and “deliberately” set fire to wheat fields and grain storage facilities.

Shoigu issued the instructions to the Vostok (East) Battalion as part of his second publicly announced visit to the frontline since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. He asked the military to “eliminate the possibility for the Kyiv regime to inflict massive missile and artillery strikes” on Russian-held territories, as per an official statement released by the defense ministry.

American M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) being used by the Ukrainians are proving to be effective, as per reports. The system allows for the launching of multiple, precision-guided rockets. Already, the U.S. had provided eight of the systems to Ukraine and last week promised to send an additional four, for a total of 12 of the systems. HIMARS’ GPS-guided missiles have a range of far more advanced than Ukraine’s existing artillery capabilities, and double that of the M777 howitzers. At roughly 80km, it generally puts HIMARS MLRS out of range of Russia’s own artillery, while placing the Russian batteries at risk.

During a background briefing at the Pentagon recently, a senior military official said the Defense Department believes the HIMARS are having an indirect, but significant impact on front line operations.

"I think there has been significant impact on what's going on, on the front lines," the official said. "If you think about the fact that the Ukrainians have been talking about a number of the targets [they] are hitting... they're spending a lot of time striking targets like ammunition, supplies, other logistical supplies, command and control. And all those things have a direct impact on the ability to conduct operations on the front line... Although they're not shooting the HIMARS at the front lines, they are having a very, very significant effect on that."