Russia Boasts of Destroying NATO-Supplied “Precision” Guided Missile Systems – According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian troops have used long-range air-launched missiles to destroy a warehouse housing Harpoon missiles supplied by the West. Russia’s news agency TASS also claimed that a missile launcher and a transport loading vehicle for a HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) were destroyed in an additional strike.
HIMARS. Image Credit: U.S. Military.
The news comes as Ukraine becomes more proficient in the use of NATO-standard weapons, including several HIMARS supplied by the United States in recent weeks. The high-precision missile systems have allowed Ukraine to conduct a number of longer-range strikes against Russian targets, including two Russian ammunition depots in the last week alone.
An additional eight HIMARS were sent to Ukraine from the United States last week, with an additional four on their way.
In a statement shared on Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defense described the “significant losses in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” and claimed that “cases of desertion are growing.”
The statement also described how the Russian armed forces “continue to strike at military facilities on the territory of Ukraine.”
“Harpoon anti-ship missiles, transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries, were destroyed by high-precision long-range air-launched missiles in one of the buildings of an industrial enterprise in the city of Odessa,” it continues.
Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov of the Russian Ministry of Defense also commented on the strike, describing how “high-precision long-range air-launched missiles in one of the buildings of an industrial enterprise in the city of Odessa destroyed a storage warehouse for Harpoon anti-ship missiles transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries.”
“As a result of the strike on the deployment point of the 97th battalion of the 60th motorized infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement of Novodanilovka, Zaporozhye region, up to 65 nationalists and over 10 units of special vehicles were destroyed,” Konashenkov.”
The strikes are a positive development for the Russian military, if reports due prove accurate, particularly following the recent “operational pause” and after several crippling strikes by Ukrainian forces using HIMARS.
The loss of Harpoon missiles is also bad news for Ukraine. One of the most successful and effective weapons in its class, the Harpoon missiles have been used by Ukrainian forces in several instances, which certainly made Russia take note. They are used by 30 armies all over the world, including Chile, India, Israel, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan.
210123-N-VH871-1123 NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy (Jan. 23, 2021) Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Adam Vasquez, assigned to the “Grey Knights” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 46, installs an AGM-84D ‘Harpoon’ missile onto a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Jan. 23, 2021. VP-46 is currently forward-deployed to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations and is assigned to Commander, Task Force 67, responsible for tactical control of deployed maritime patrol and reconnaissance squadrons throughout Europe and Africa. U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts a full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national security interests and stability in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Austin Ingram/ Released)
WATERS NEAR GUAM (Mar. 10, 2016) – Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) conducts a live fire of a harpoon missile during Multi-Sail 2016. Multi Sail is a bilateral training exercise aimed at interoperability between the U.S. and Japanese forces. This exercise builds interoperability and benefits from realistic, shared training, enhancing our ability to work together to confront any contingency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric Coffer/Released)
A view of an RGM-84 surface-to-surface Harpoon missile, immediately after leaving a canister launcher aboard the cruiser USS LEAHY (CG-16), near the Pacific Missile Test Center, Calif.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
