Ukraine’s new rockets are wreaking havoc on Russia’s army
The American-supplied HIMARS is wiping out arms dumps and command posts
“Russian forward ammunition dumps are quite possibly the most unsafe places in any war zone,” explained an American army handbook published in 2016. Munitions were not stored safely, it noted, and many dated from the Soviet era, close to their expiry dates, creating “a tinderbox ready to explode”. “Priority targeting of these areas will cause a serious logistics strain on the Russian system,” it concluded. Ukrainian generals are now putting that theory to the test.
On July 11th a Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka in southern Ukraine exploded in spectacular fashion. Satellite images showed that the entire facility vanished overnight. It is thought to be the latest victim of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (himars), which America began sending to Ukraine in late June.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "Deep battle"
Europe July 16th 2022
- Europe is preparing for Russian gas to be cut off this winter
- The war is forcing Ukraine’s energy planners to be creative
- Ukraine’s new rockets are wreaking havoc on Russia’s army
- Turkey grapples with triple-digit inflation
- How many cows are too many, asks the Dutch government?
- Down with long school summer breaks
From the July 16th 2022 edition
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