Video Shows Devastating Aftermath of Russian Rocket Launcher Malfunction

Haunting footage of a rocket launcher apparently frozen at the moment of its own destruction has gone viral online.

The Soviet-designed BM-21 Grad (which means "hailstorm" in Russian) is a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) that is mounted on a truck, but the one featured in the video is misshapen almost beyond recognition after it malfunctioned. Burned black and apparently covered in rust, the vehicle's launchers are twisted backward and the striking effect almost resembles a chrysanthemum or a modernist sculpture.

Russia has made some gains in eastern Ukraine in recent days, but the release of the video clip follows a string of heavy human losses and other military equipment woes for Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked global outrage when he invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, confident of success in what he called a special military operation. Instead, a grim war of attrition has ensued and the U.S. and other allies have provided weapons and financial aid to Ukraine. Russia's troops have been decimated, while Moscow has also seen the failure of its missile strikes and embarrassing gaffes such as a Russian helicopter pilot apparently accidentally blowing up one of his own side's tanks.

The latest footage, which was shared on social media site X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday by a user who says they work as an analyst for the U.S. research organization Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), has already been shared by hundreds of people and viewed 190,000 times.

Posting from the handle @Osinttechnical (Open Source Intelligence Technical), the user captioned the clip: "A Russian soldier films the shattered remains of a Russian Bm-21 Grad MRL post catastrophic ammunition detonation." It can be viewed below:

As the shot pans in on the destroyed Grad, a Russian-speaking man behind the camera laughs ruefully. "Well hello little one, hahaha," he says. "Everything is rotten, it happens. In this weather, everything rots quickly. Looks like you were fully loaded when blowing up." Curiously, he adds: "I hope the crew was inside."

It's unclear whether the man was a Russian saboteur or defector, or whether he was a Russian-speaking Ukrainian, although he did not have the distinctive dialect and accent typically associated with the region.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry and Ukraine's Ministry of Defense by email for comment.

The footage captivated viewers online, with many trying to articulate what the destroyed launcher now resembled. "I immediately saw a [deep fried] onion blossom," one person tweeted, sharing a photo of the dish. Several others also said it reminded them of a "bloomin' onion" meal, while others suggested it resembled "hedgehog potatoes."

Others thought it looked more like a strange flower, while several viewers compared the wreckage to a metal sculpture. "It looks like a work of art," one added.

Some found humor in the situation, joking that the damage could be repaired easily. "It's just a scratch, buff it out and it'll be as good as new," one X user suggested.

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