One would hope that the Russian President does not have access to Twitter as he would be peppered with countless videos of his military machine getting destroyed in Ukraine day in and day out.
And much of that is thanks to billions of dollars in Western military aid.
Indeed, it seems much of his artillery and tanks have been wiped out, as the footage below shows us:
Watch Ukraine Destroy Two Howitzers
Video footage shared on social media this week shows how two stationary Russian self-propelled howitzers were taken out in quick succession by two high-precision Ukrainian strikes.
The video footage was reportedly recorded in Novopetrykivka in Donetsk Oblast, and there was no information offered about when the footage was recorded.
The video starts by showing two Russian 2S19 self-propelled howitzers parked in a hedgerow between two agricultural fields. Another Russian military vehicle is seen moving on a nearby road, driving towards the two vehicles.
Fifteen seconds into the video, the howitzer on the right explodes, creating a cloud of white and black dust and smoke. The explosion is immense, with a shockwave surrounding the vehicle, scattering dust and soil particles in a semi-circle. As the smoke rises into the air, the driver and operators of the howitzer just dozens of feet away from the vehicle don’t have time to react before the second howitzer meets an identical fate. The vehicle erupts into a cloud of black and white smoke, creating another shockwave on the ground.
The unmanned aerial vehicle recording the footage then pans away from the vehicles, indicating that its operator may have been fleeing the scene before it could be targeted by enemy fire.
Ukraine Weapons Tracker, one of the several war-tracking Twitter accounts that shared the clip, noted that the howitzers were taken out by a Ukrainian guided multiple launch rocket system (GMRLS).
“Two Russian 2S19 Msta-S 152mm self-propelled howitzers were hit by GMRLS strikes of the Ukrainian Army North of Novopetrykivka, #Donetsk Oblast,” the post reads.
The movement of another Russian military vehicle nearby indicates that the two howitzers were in active use, and that these strikes were not another example of Ukrainian forces taking out abandoned or damaged vehicles on the battlefield. Both strikes, therefore, could have resulted in the deaths of Russian soldiers.
The foliage in the clip indicates that the footage was recorded in the summer, and social media accounts sharing the clip indicate that the video was recorded this year.
What is the GMRLS?
The GMRLS is a surface-to-surface rocket system designed to target ground-based military hardware and positions. GMLRS munitions are also designed to be more accurate than typical ballistic rockets.
Ukraine also has access to some guided artillery rockets that have an even greater range than the GMLRS systems provided by the United States and other Western allies. Known as the Vilkha-M, the rocket can strike targets with great precision from as far away as 68 miles.
#Ukraine: Two Russian 2S19 Msta-S 152mm self-propelled howitzers were hit by GMRLS strikes of the Ukrainian Army North of Novopetrykivka, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/frwk3Psw9W
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 14, 2023
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He 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.
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