Russian Launchers Destroyed in Eastern Ukraine? While most in Kyiv don’t likely celebrate the Fourth of July, and Ukraine continues to fight for its independence, there was something better than fireworks as Ukrainian forces reportedly successfully destroyed two Russian multiple rocket launcher vehicles, along with two special missile transporters on Monday. The multiple rocket launcher vehicles were reportedly BM-27 Uragans, while the special missile transporters were TZM-Ts. The Russian vehicles had been targeted by Ukrainian tanks.
Even as footage of the destruction of the Russian vehicles has been widely shared on social media, it remains unclear exactly where this action took place in Ukraine, however, Newsweek reported that the video was provided by the 28th Mechanized Brigade – officially the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the First Winter Campaign.
In a statement, the unit stated, “The 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the First Winter Campaign does not stop destroying the enemy…” adding, “Two ‘Uragans’ and two [TZM-Ts] made a gesture of goodwill and dissolved into molecules!”
Knights of the Ukrainian Republic
The 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s origins date back to the Second World War when it was formed from the 180th Rifle Division in May 1942. It became the 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and was part of the Soviet Army’s 14th Guard Army, headquartered at Chișinău, in the Moldavian SSR (Odesa Military District).
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the unit became part of the reorganized Ukrainian 6th Army Corp, and later was part of Operational Command South. As the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the unit fought in the ongoing war in Donbas that began in 2014, and in August 2016, the “Guards” title was removed.
In August 2019, by decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the unit was officially redesignated 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the First Winter Campaign.
Monday’s destruction of the Russian BM-27 Uragans follows a Ukrainian strike on a Russian ammo depot earlier in the weekend. Video, also shared online, showed the complete destruction of a stockpile of rockets for the BM-27.
According to reports, Ukrainian forces had managed to track and locate the store of rockets by using drones.
Meet the Uragan: At War in Ukraine
The Kremlin has been using its fleet of BM-27 Uragan 220mm rocket launchers to target Ukrainian positions in the Eastern Donbas region. The BM-27, Russian designation 9P140 Uragan, is a self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MLRS) that was designed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It began its service with the Soviet Army in the late 1970s, and it is capable of launching 220mm rockets from 16 launch tubes mounted on the rear of a ZIL-135 8×8 chassis.
Video of 2S3 Akatsiya artillery strikes on a Russian BM-27 Uragan MLRS position by Ukraine’s 28th Mechanized Brigade.https://t.co/BIYQd6Ugdf pic.twitter.com/bRlJH7XBjJ
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 4, 2022
The rockets are equipped with high-explosive fragmentation, chemical, and scatterable-mine sub-munition warheads. The fin-and spin-stabilized rockets are estimated to have a range of 35 to 40 km, greatly exceeding the ranges of earlier Soviet heavy rocket launchers.
Now a Senior Editor for 1945, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes.
