Posted on 06/12/2022 2:52:35 AM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Almost 4 months after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war turned into an "artillery duel". And victories in battles are increasingly being won by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A significant role in this is played by the supply of Western weapons, which are gaining momentum, but are still insufficient. Der Spiegel writes about this in an analytical article.
"At the beginning of the offensive, when Russian troops began to advance in large columns from the north to major Ukrainian cities such as Kiev and Kharkiv, the goal was to lure the enemy into ambushes, where anti-tank weapons were waiting for him. However, now that the struggle has migrated to the vast steppes of the south and east of Ukraine, it has become more violent, more ruthless... Courage, experience and imagination do not help much when the necessary weapons are not at hand," the newspaper writes.
Journalists quote the Ukrainian deputy, Colonel Roman Kostenko, who now commands a special unit that works closely with the Gunners. The MP believes that it is artillery that will be of decisive importance in the battle for the Ukrainian South, where the unit headed by him is fighting.
The publication notes that if initially the Ukrainian army had mainly Soviet-made artillery systems at its disposal, now the share of Western equipment is growing.
"On one of the fields covered with artillery, M777 is firing at Russian positions. The United States promised the Ukrainian military 108 such howitzers, as well as 200,000 rounds of ammunition for them. Howitzers are not self-propelled, they are towed by other vehicles. In addition, the" Triple Seven", which the Ukrainians call" three axes", has a longer range than Russian artillery, and uses standard - sized NATO shells that can be replenished, " the newspaper writes, adding that Norway and France also supplied Ukrainian artillery.
According to adviser to the head of the Office of the president of Ukraine Alexey Arestovich, the supply of Western artillery is "decisive" for the situation at the front today. Without them, he says, "the enemy would now storm Zaporozhye, take Lisichansk and surround Slavyansk."
"In close combat, battalion vs battalion, we win," says Arestovich. "Our problem is that the enemy is shooting at us with almost impunity from a long distance." This, according to him, explains the high Ukrainian losses of up to 100 servicemen daily. Ukraine, he adds, ran out of ammunition for its own rocket launchers in early April, "except for the inviolable reserve," the author of the article quotes Arestovich's statement.
At the same time, the Russian occupiers do not experience a shortage of artillery and ammunition - and use them at full capacity in the Donbas.
"The Ukrainian commander on the Eastern Front called Russian tactics a 'wall of fire'. Before each attack, they create a "blanket" of artillery fire, which allows them to inflict losses on Ukrainian defenders. And the Russians are unlikely to run out of ammunition in the near future: "they use Soviet-era stocks, and the Soviets were not stingy when it came to weapons." The commander also praises the New M777 howitzers." the Russians are afraid of them, " he says.
Journalists also quote John Spencer, a military expert at the Madison Policy Forum think tank, who believes that these Western systems "significantly affect the Donbass."
"Ukrainians are now waiting for the next delivery from the West. The United States intends to send four M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. And the British promised several M270 systems, a multiple launch rocket system with a range of up to 80 kilometers. This is not only twice as much as that of American howitzers, but also slightly exceeds the range of comparable Russian systems. And the Germans promised to deliver four MARS II systems by the end of June," writes Der Spiegel.
Western rocket launchers are capable of destroying enemy artillery from a long distance. And while Russian missile launchers are notorious for their inaccuracy, with a scattering radius of 170 meters, HIMARS and M270 allow accurate strikes provided that GPS-guided missiles are used.
"These systems will really make a difference," said Mark Kanchian, an analyst at The Washington - based think tank at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The problem, however, is that the eight systems promised by the Americans, British and Germans are not enough to protect against Russian offensive along the entire front line. "10 systems are probably enough for the Donbass alone, but it is likely that at least twice as many are needed for the rest of the front," Kanchian said.
Journalists state that recently Ukraine has been conducting counterattacks in the southern region, the medium – term goal is to recapture the territory west of the Dnieper. Russia captured Kherson, which gave it a springboard on the West Bank of the river, from which it could move to Odessa.
Now, says Colonel Kostenko, the Ukrainian army is able to strike at the initial positions of the invaders with the help of targeted artillery, which is controlled using drones.
"But then they send reserves, and we can't protect the territory," he says.
According to Kostenko, Modern Multiple Launch Rocket Systems with their long range will allow Ukrainian soldiers to also attack Russia's reserve lines, which will facilitate the maintenance of the recaptured territory.
"Meanwhile, the United States has made it quite clear about the possibilities of weapons systems, taking president Zelensky's promise that Ukraine will not use rocket launchers to fire at Russian territory. And Washington decided not to supply the so-called ATACMS missile, which can be launched by the same launchers, but has a range of up to 300 km. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not seem impressed by the announced deliveries of missile systems, because he said that they "will not change anything in essence," the newspaper writes.
And even those MLRS that are already on the way will not be able to start using immediately.
"The question is how quickly Ukraine will actually be able to deploy multiple launch rocket systems. Four HIMARS systems from the United States have already been transported to Europe, but Ukrainian soldiers still need to be trained in their use, and this training is given three weeks. Meanwhile, German systems require software configuration, which can lead to significant delays, possibly even before winter," the publication writes.
Journalists recalled that the German government is delaying the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
So far, Berlin has only supplied light weapons and ammunition, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, 16 million rounds of ammunition, 50 field medical vehicles, and 80 armored SUVs.
"However, when it comes to heavy weapons, all that Ukraine has received from Berlin is promises. Other countries sent much more. Poland, for example, supplied 230 upgraded T-72 battle tanks, and the Czech Republic — 61 armored personnel carriers," States Der Spiegel.
The publication also noted the "huge solidarity" of Eastern European countries with Ukraine, which was a victim of Russian aggression.
"In tiny Lithuania, the population raised 5 million euros to buy a Bayraktar combat drone for Ukrainians. And the Eastern European ones also helped in other ways: they still had a significant number of Soviet weapons that the Ukrainians could easily use. Western systems may be better, but they need training," the newspaper writes.
Recall that on June 11, it became known when Ukraine will receive the long-suffering howitzers from Germany. According to the Ukrainian ambassador to this country Andriy Melnyk, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers are approximately on June 22. After that, German Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns are expected to be delivered.
Only verified information is available in the Obozrevatel Telegram channel and in Viber. Don't be led to fakes
This is beginning to be a worldwide strategic chess game.
Add China to the game, the economic collapse of the USA, and WWIII is in full force.
😢
Bad translation of "lang erwartet?"
Regards,
“Almost 4 months after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war turned into an “artillery duel”. And victories in battles are increasingly being won by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “
ROLFMAO!
Love how you demonstrated, with geometric logic, how the cited statement was untrue!
Oh, wait... You didn't.
Regards,
It think the phrase is ROFLMAO, Comrade. You might want to share that with the rest of the troll farm if you want to appear more authentic online.
When I put my VPN on and pointed to the US, the site came right up.
So I tried some other locations in SE Asia. Nothing.
Locations in Europe in Australia, it comes right up.
I don't want to say it's targeted... But it seems strange.
If you know better Ukraine war mappers, please post the links.
The link posted for the above article is garbage, might as well be Baghdad Bob.
Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 11.06.2022
[Europeans put month before day]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBc0JvkGmbw&t=12s&ab_channel=MilitarySummary
[ Ukraine SITREP ] Day 106-107 (9-10/6) Summary - Ukr push at Ternova failed; RF heading to Sydorove
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVu8CD0eBCo&t=756s&ab_channel=DefensePoliticsAsia
Thanks
“On one of the fields covered with artillery, M777 is firing at Russian positions. The United States promised the Ukrainian military 108 such howitzers, as well as 200,000 rounds of ammunition for them. Howitzers are not self-propelled, they are towed by other vehicles. In addition, the” Triple Seven”, which the Ukrainians call” three axes”, has a longer range than Russian artillery”
Check out the specs of artillery pieces. This ridiculous statement is easily refuted.
“The United States intends to send four M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. And the British promised several M270 systems, a multiple launch rocket system with a range of up to 80 kilometers. This is not only twice as much as that of American howitzers, but also slightly exceeds the range of comparable Russian systems. And the Germans promised to deliver four MARS II systems by the end of June,” writes Der Spiegel.
Western rocket launchers are capable of destroying enemy artillery from a long distance. And while Russian missile launchers are notorious for their inaccuracy, with a scattering radius of 170 meters, HIMARS and M270 allow accurate strikes provided that GPS-guided missiles are used.”
Check the specs again. HIMARS and M270 in conventional role are barely comparable to the weakest of ancient Soviet BM-21. The scattering radius of 170 m is nothing given that they fire 40 rockets at once.
HIMARS with precision munition is barely matching the range of the more capable Russian systems like Smerch, which might be GPS-guided as well, but doesn’t need to, because it normally fires a salvo destroying the area around individual target including the target.
Now, what 108 of less capable M777 and 4 MLRS are supposed to change against thousands of more capable pieces on the other side?
It is a cheap propaganda to justify $40 billion.
India bought some M777s.....$5 million each.
"Guardian openly admits the downplaying of Ukrainian losses has been a coordinated propaganda effort, but this recent staggering report seems to concede It's no longer tenable to hide it."
Link to above to read the comments following it.
https://twitter.com/Tom_Fowdy/status/1535805594266787841
Good for them! The advantage of M777 is a DFCM module networking the gun through the GPS, calculating wind speed and so on. This makes it very good against Afghan insurgents but barely useful against a semi-intelligent opponent who spoofs and hacks it to make you fire on own troops. Without this capability, the gun is a fragile piece from WWII.
Titanium is so valuable that reportedly many of the M77s are not making it to the battle, but are being diverted to scrap metal buyers instead.
See 16. A ton of titanium on wheels with its own truck is a very tempting prize.
Like a 17th Century cannon made of silver and gold.
Modern Ukraine is not notable for its honesty and integrity.
Yes, even with these new weapons, Ukraine will continue being in a "tight spot."
On paper, the Russians will continue to "have the edge."
However, I still believe that, for socio-psychological reasons, Ukraine will still prevail.
The Russians will weary of the carnage much sooner than the Ukrainians. The Russians must win to be victorious. But the Ukrainians need only survive to come out on top.
Regards,
Yes, and Russian artillery is completely invulnerable to "spoofing" and "hacking," right?
Ri-ight?
Regards,
That’s for sure.
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