U.S. Sending Ukraine HIMARS Units To Bomb Russian Forces

Ukrainian military officials have recently disclosed that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, an armored-vehicle-mounted long-range artillery launcher, is an indispensable weapon in month five of their defensive war against Russian invaders, Michael Weiss reported for Yahoo News.

Photo Insert: In the last few weeks, scores of Russian weapons dumps deep in the Donbas have gone up in flames on a near daily basis, causing a slew of new memes on Twitter and war observers to frequently allude to the coming of "HIMARS o'clock."

“HIMARS have already made a HUUUGE difference on the battlefield,” tweeted Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on July 9.

“More of them as well as [US] ammo & equipment will increase our strength and help to demilitarize the terrorist state,” he wrote, referring to Russia. So, it no doubt came as gratifying news in Kyiv that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday that Washington would send another four HIMARS platforms, which, he added, Ukraine has been “using so effectively and which have made such a difference on the battlefield.”

The HIMARS strikes have been deadly, as the Russian military simply does not have a reply for their range, accuracy, and mobility; the M31 series rockets supplied with the HIMARS can hit a target within a 16-foot radius at a range of 52 miles.

In the last few weeks, scores of Russian weapons dumps deep in the Donbas have gone up in flames on a near daily basis, causing a slew of new memes on Twitter and war observers to frequently allude to the coming of "HIMARS o'clock."

During a visit to the front in Ukraine on July 18, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu directed generals to prioritize the destruction of HIMARS and other long-range artillery, a subtle acknowledgment of how significant their impact has been.

The modular architecture of the HIMARS system, which allows it to fire a variety of rockets, is one of its primary advantages. In addition to M31 rockets, the system is capable of firing one of the heavier and more deadly Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) ballistic missiles.

With a range of up to 186 miles and the same pinpoint accuracy as M31, the US had been hesitant to supply ATACMS to the Ukrainians for fear that they would be used to strike targets within Russia itself, setting off an escalatory spiral that could drag NATO countries and Russia into a direct conflict.

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