Ukrainian forces have destroyed air defences inside Russia, “likely” with the American-supplied Himars rocket system, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. Russian sources will likely continue to characterise any successful strike in Belgorod Oblast as a Himars strike regardless of the system used.” The Russian system was located about 60km from the frontline in northern Kharkiv oblast and over 80km from Kharkiv city, the ISW said. This was within the range of Himars while exceeding the range of other systems thought to be used by Ukrainian forces to hit Belgorod oblast. “Ukrainian field commanders’ decisions to train newly deployed personnel on the front before committing them to combat indicates that the overall quality of Ukrainian forces will likely remain higher than that of Russian forces in the near- to mid-term,” it said. Russian authorities have labelled at least one such group as a “foreign agent”, a tactic used to silence dissent.

Source: The Guardian June 04, 2024 18:15 UTC