Ukrainians are continuing their fight against the devastating violence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime.
Another large explosion at a Russian ammunition storage location in Nova Kakhovka — a Ukrainian town currently occupied by Russian forces in the Kherson region — was reported on Monday. There was a large explosion affecting a Russian ammo depot in the same town the prior week. “In Nova Kakhovka minus one Russian ammo depot. They brought, brought, stockpiled, stockpiled and now have fireworks at night,” Serhiy Khlan, who’s been involved with the local government in Ukraine’s Kherson region, stated of that prior incident. Ukrainian forces apparently used U.S.-provided weapons — the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system — in efforts targeting Russian troops in Nova Kakhovka.
“The Ukrainian side reports that missiles from the HIMARS system caused the explosions,” the Kyiv Post reports in apparent reference to the blasts in Nova Kakhovka. CNN already reported that earlier strike in the city was the work of that particular weapons system. “Ukraine received this new weapon from the U.S. in June, which allows the Ukrainian Army to shoot over longer distances,” the Kyiv Post added this week.
“What we’ve seen is the ability of the Ukrainians to use these HIMAR systems to significantly disrupt the ability of the Russians to move forward,” a U.S. defense official recently stated. “If the Russians think they can outlast the Ukrainians, they need to rethink that.” Throughout the Russian war against Ukraine, leaders in Ukraine have been consistent in pushing for outside support — meaning, in large part, weapons. The HIMARS system that’s been provided by the U.S. has high levels of accuracy, meaning damage to unintended targets is lessened and fewer rounds are required to carry out a strike. Ukraine is also receiving long-range artillery systems from other countries: recent strikes by Ukraine on Russian troops and assets have taken place substantial distances behind the war’s front lines.
Other incidents that apparently involved U.S.-provided weapons include a Ukrainian strike last month that took out a Russian warship known as the Vasily Bekh near Snake Island, which Russians occupied after capturing it early in the war. Russians since abandoned it. “The Naval Forces of Ukraine have destroyed yet another ‘nothing like it anywhere in the world’ system – this time aboard a tugboat carrying a Tor anti-aircraft system. The Russian Black Sea vessel Vasiliy Bekh was hit while transporting ammunition, military materials, and military service personnel from the Black Sea Fleet,” a Ukrainian navy statement said. As reported on this site, Odesa region Governor Maksym Marchenko credited a U.S.-built Harpoon anti-ship missile for the successful strike. In the war in Ukraine so far, Russians have sustained substantial losses in troops and equipment — although Putin is standing by the violence targeting Ukraine and its population, no matter the strategic setbacks for Russia. A major hit to Putin’s political agenda is in the process of unfolding with Finland and Sweden working through the process of joining NATO.
