Ukraine Cuts Russia's Artillery Edge By Destroying Ammunition Depots

As Russia continues its slow but steady advance in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, the Ukrainian military is working to undermine Russia's overwhelming artillery power and disrupt its logistics deep in occupied territory, destroying nearly 20 Russian ammunition depots in the Donbas region and in Southern Ukraine, Illia Ponomarenko reported for Kyiv Independent.

Photo Insert: Both sides have suffered tremendous losses.

Devastating strikes on Russian command centers have increased in the Donbas region since mid-June when Ukraine began employing the first of four M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, delivered by the US, over a week before their arrival was publicly reported.

On June 14, Ukraine destroyed a stockpile in Nova Kakhovka, one of Russia's important strongholds in Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast, which was taken by Russia in the early days of the invasion. Another huge depot in occupied Kherson, near the city's primary railway station, was also attacked on the same day.

A large explosion happened near the city of Khrustalniy (previously Krasniy Luch) in the occupied Luhansk Oblast on June 15. The explosions lasted several days. According to satellite pictures, the explosions created a 500-meter-wide devastation zone surrounding the epicenter. After Russian soldiers conquered the area in 2014, the location became one of Russia's largest munitions storage.

On June 29, another attack badly destroyed an ammo stockpile in Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, which was used by Russia's 20th Combined Arms Army in its offensives in the region.

Successful attacks have occurred practically daily in the Azotniy area in the northeastern portion of Donetsk, where Russia maintained ammo caches throughout the city.

On July 2, Ukraine's military released a video of a massive explosion at another huge stockpile in Popasna, Luhansk Oblast, that was being used to supply Russian soldiers near Bakhmut and to the south of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. Another huge blast two days later devastated a big storehouse in the city of Snizhne. Three additional depots were also hit in Donetsk.

On July 4, a HIMARS strike reportedly damaged one of four Russian military bases in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a vital Russian logistics center in Ukraine's south.

Another strike damaged the Kamaz Center, a big truck repair shop that was being utilized as a Russian munition base, on July 5.

On July 6, the Techsnab manufacturing complex in Makiivka was also destroyed, with considerable volumes of stored armaments exploding. Missile strikes have also happened in the seized south of Ukraine.

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