A Russian missile has hit a concealed Ukrainian position where two US-made multiple rocket launch systems were deployed, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Wednesday, showing purported footage of the strike.
The attack was apparently conducted at night near the small village of Khrapovshchina in Ukraine’s Sumy Region. The footage showed several vehicles driving under the cover of trees in a forest just south of the settlement, which is located roughly 15km from the Russian border. A missile is then seen hitting the location, causing a massive explosion.
The ministry claimed that the blast destroyed two US-made rocket launchers donated to Kiev – a wheeled HIMARS system and a tracked MLRS system. Ukrainian forces also lost two support vehicles and up to 20 troops, the statement said.
Sumy Region borders Russia’s Kursk Region, where Kiev’s forces launched an incursion last month. Ukrainian officials claim that the operation was intended to establish a “buffer zone” on Russian soil. Vladimir Zelensky told NBC News this week that he wants to hold those territories for the foreseeable future as part of his “victory plan.”
Ukrainian officials are lobbying the US to allow strikes deep inside Russia with US-provided long-range missiles. However, Washington has indicated that it does not intend to grant this request.
The Russian military regularly reports on successful strikes against Ukrainian and Western-donated military hardware on both sides of the border. On Tuesday, it released footage of a similar strike in Sumy Region, showing three HIMARS launchers being destroyed along with the support equipment and personnel.
Over 9,300 Ukrainian troops and hundreds of heavy weapons have been destroyed in the nearly month-long Kursk incursion, according to Russian Defense Ministry estimates released on Tuesday. Moscow considers the Ukraine conflict to be a US-led proxy war against Russia in which Ukrainian troops are being used as “cannon fodder.”