Ukraine received four additional M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, light-wheeled multiple rocket launchers.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Olesii Reznikov said on Twitter that 4 additional HIMARS have arrived in Ukraine.
“I’m grateful to the U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III and the U.S. people for the strengthening of the Ukrainian Army,” tweeted Reznikov. He added,
“We have proven to be smart operators of this weapon. The sound of the HIMARS volley has become a top hit of this summer at the front lines!”
The first eight HIMARS were particularly useful for Ukraine, as the fight in the Donbas has largely evolved into an artillery duel.
Rockets fired from HIMARS have struck more than 60 Russian targets behind enemy lines in Ukraine, including ammunition depots and command and control posts. By all accounts, they’ve thrown Russian logistics into disarray and are slowing the Russian military’s advance in eastern Ukraine.
The HIMARS launcher has six launch tubes armed with the ordinary GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) rockets with 80 to 120km (50- to 75-mile) range.
Individual GMLRS rockets cost about $100,000. The S300 anti-air batteries and ammunition depots they have destroyed in Ukraine cost millions of dollars, and the psychological effects of Russian soldiers’ knowing that they can be attacked far behind the line of contact are incalculable.