Moscow has released a video showing what it says is the moment a Ukrainian-operated, US-produced HIMARS multiple rocket launcher was destroyed by Russian forces.
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was mentioned in a daily briefing by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday. The footage was published shortly afterwards.
The short clip was apparently filmed from a drone and showed the weapons system under the cover of a windbreak separating two fields. A powerful explosion can then be seen meters away from the launcher.
The ministry did not specify how or where exactly the HIMARS had been targeted. The briefing listed it among Kiev’s military assets destroyed over the past 24 hours by Russian tactical aviation, drones, and artillery forces.
The US has reportedly provided Ukraine with 39 wheeled launchers designed to fire 227-millimeter M30/31 rockets. Forbes claimed in January that Russia had not destroyed a single one of them, “and not for the lack of trying,” contradicting Moscow’s assertions.
The Russian military described the HIMARS kill as “the latest” scored by Moscow’s forces. Last week, a high-quality video featuring the destruction of the weapons system surfaced online. An Iskender missile reportedly obliterated one launcher and two other Ukrainian military vehicles caught off guard.