The Ministry of Defense reports another great success of Russian troops in Ukraine. Interfax writes:
“In the area of the settlement of Malotaranovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, high-precision air-launched missiles destroyed two US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket launchers and two ammunition depots for them,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Wednesday.
"Ukrainska Pravda" notes that "the occupiers did not provide any evidence or any details." True, the Ministry of Defense published a short video clip taken at night from a drone: a rocket hits the ground not far from four poorly distinguishable objects that look like parked cars. There is nothing resembling two HIMARS installations in the frame.
The Ukrainian publication Korrespondent.net, which keeps a constantly updated chronicle of the Russian invasion, on the same day informs :
“The Russians hit Kramatorsk with rockets at night, the mayor of the city, Alexander Goncharenko, said. In the village of Malotaranovka near Kramatorsk, the garages of a private enterprise were destroyed, windows were broken in one of the public utilities, there were no casualties.”
The day before, on Tuesday, July 5, a message appeared there:
“So far, the Ukrainian military has only four HIMARS systems, but they demonstrate maximum operational mobility, striking enemy rear bases along the entire front. Artillerymen say that HIMARS are already beginning to shift the balance of power.”
The message contains a link to a report on the use of HIMARS, which says :
“On Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed the work of HIMARS mobile rocket artillery systems in the Zaporozhye direction. "Zaporozhye direction. HIMARS continue the demilitarization of the Russian occupying army,” the message says.
Only three HIMARS launchers are visible on the footage, while only two are firing, and the third is in “reserve”. Probably another launcher remained in the other direction or is in reserve.
Thus, three of the four HIMARS transferred to Ukraine on Monday were in the Zaporozhye region, which is being attacked by the Russians from the south, from the occupied areas of the Zaporozhye region.
Malotaranovka is a southern suburb of Kramatorsk, from there it is about 300 km to Zaporozhye. The territory between Kramatorsk and Zaporozhye is controlled by Ukraine. The firing range of those HIMARS ammunition that was transferred to Ukraine is 45 miles (about 72.5 km), that is, it is impossible to fire at Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction from the Malotaranovka area.
Consequently, either at least one HIMARS was transferred over a distance of almost 300 km to Malotaranovka in two days, where it was immediately destroyed along with another installation, or the message of the Ministry of Defense is not true. A video circulated by the Ministry of Defense speaks in favor of the latter.
Reports of the military successes of Russian troops in Ukraine have often turned out to be greatly exaggerated. So, at the end of June, the host of the Russia 1 TV channel, Olga Skabeeva, stated that during the “special operation” about 1,000 Bayraktar drones were destroyed, although only about 300 of them were produced. The Ministry of Defense, however, claimed that 84 Turkish drones were destroyed, but Ukraine had them there were only 62.
