Ukraine's NATO Weapons Further Degrade Russian Logistics

More powerful and longer range NATO missile systems bring Russian command, control and resupply targets within reach of weapons stationed as far as 120 kilometers away. 

Which is one of the reasons why Russian advances have been so slow and cautious despite their advantages in weapons supply. Nothing they have inside Ukraine - or on the Black Sea - is safe. JL 

Daily Kos reports:

Over the past few weeks, we’re seeing more and more dramatic destruction of Russian ammunition depots. GMLRS can fire accurately to 84 kilometers, and can even reach further but not as accurately. Ukraine has been aggressively launching these past couple of weeks. It’s almost as if Ukrainian high command decided they didn’t need to husband these long-range resources anymore with HIMARS in theater, and could blast off their remaining supply. These have a range of 120 kilometers. HIMARS will make targets like this far more commonplace. Russia will have to move supply depots further behind front lines, exacerbating their logistical challenges.

Early days of the war, the most videos showed anti-tank missiles like NLAWS, Stugna-P, and Javelins taking out Russian armor and vehicles. Then there was the “vehicles stuck in mud” phase. Eventually, that gave way to supply convoy ambushes. Then artillery strikes, and more artillery strikes. A handful of “commercial drone drops grenade” videos sneak through, but mostly artillery. Lots of artillery strikes. Until … now. 

We still have plenty of artillery videos. This is an artillery attrition war, with the skies over Ukraine swarming with drones documenting it all. New Western artillery systems, like the M777, French Caesar, and Dutch/German Panzerhaubitze 2000 are treated like celebrities on the red carpet at the Oscars. But over the past few weeks, we’re seeing more and more dramatic destruction of Russian ammunition depots.

This was reportedly the headquarters of Russia’s 20th Army, and Russian Telegram channels reported multiple officer casualties. In the video, we see three pontoon bridging vehicles, at least two infantry fighting vehicles, a Tigr armored jeep-style infantry vehicle, and multiple requisitioned civilian vehicles. Not a bad haul for a single strike. 

The lack of burn marks and shrapnel damage to the vehicles definitely points to HIMARS rockets. In my day, the rockets carried cluster munitions, now banned by international treaty (though the U.S. and Russia are not signatories). Instead, these rockets carry 180,000 small non-explosive tungsten balls, which detonate above the target and scatter the shots like a massive 360-degree shotgun. a single rocket with 180,000 of those tungsten balls likely did as much damage as an entire pod of six high explosive rockets would’ve managed. There’s a different role for those.

 

GMLRS can fire accurately to 84 kilometers (beyond its official rated range), and can even reach further but not as accurately. This could also be Tochka-U ballistic missiles, Ukraine has been aggressively launching these past couple of weeks.It’s almost as if Ukrainian high command decided they didn’t need to husband these long-range resources anymore with HIMARS in theater, and could blast off their remaining supply. These have a range of 120 kilometers. HIMARS will make targets like this far more commonplace. Russia will have to move supply depots further behind front lines, exacerbating their logistical challenges. Remember, all of their recent Donbas gains have come in territory hugging their long-held proxy territory. Their push toward Bakhmut, away from their pre-war borders, has stalled. It’s certainly curious—did Ukraine’s intelligence get that much better the last few weeks, suddenly adept at finding these supply depots, or is it truly a function of “HIMARS/MLRS are coming, we can now hit these targets with missiles we were saving for a rainy day.” 

Whatever the reason, I love this new genre of war video. Russia already struggles to advance more than a few hundred meters per day. Their challenges will only multiply as Ukraine systematically wipes out their logistical and command and control centers.