The Russian military has destroyed a French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzer in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
The artillery piece was discovered at its firing position in a wooded area in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, the Russian military said in a statement.
The howitzer was targeted by a missile, presumably a Kh-BPLA laser-guided munition, fired by a Russian Inokhodets (Orion) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) strike drone and destroyed.
Footage shared by the military shows a powerful explosion at the site, apparently caused by the secondary detonation of the howitzer’s ammo stock. Several Ukrainian servicemen are seen fleeing the firing position after the strike.
Kiev’s forces have been actively using Western-supplied artillery, including French-made Caesar howitzers, during the incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region launched early in August. Multiple systems operating both on Russian soil and in neighboring Sumy Region were eventually destroyed by counter-battery fire, as well as drone and missile strikes.
The ongoing border battle of Kursk has seen a surprise return of Russian MALE drones onto the battlefield. Both Kiev and Moscow actively used these systems early on in the conflict, but the drones ended up being unable to reach their firing range since the two sides extensively covered their troops with anti-aircraft, electronic warfare, and early warning systems.
In Kursk Region, however, the situation has changed, with the Ukrainian invasion force apparently lacking adequate anti-aircraft coverage, which has enabled MALE drones to roam the battlefield freely. The UAVs are now apparently able to operate deep into the Ukrainian rear, striking targets in Sumy as well.