Ukraine Video Shows HIMARS in Action Against Russia: 'Minutes to Load'

Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi published a video on Friday of a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in action amid Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, claiming to seek the "denazification" of the Eastern European country's government and hoping for a quick victory. Nearly two years later, Ukraine's stronger-than-anticipated defense effort has blocked Russian advances, and both sides continue fighting for control of eastern Ukrainian territory.

HIMARS is a United States-made missile launcher that is mounted on a 5-ton truck and is able to fire guided missiles in quick succession. The missile launcher has been in Ukraine since June 2022.

Along with Friday's video, Zaluzhnyi posted to his Telegram channel, "The HIMARS rocket artillery system effectively destroys enemy equipment and manpower along the entire front line. The crews are constantly on standby as soon as an enemy target appears, with only minutes to load and move to a firing position."

The video was also shared and translated on X, formerly Twitter, by Nexta, an Eastern European media outlet.

According to defense contractor Lockheed Martin's website, HIMARS "carries a single six-pack of guided rockets or one missile on the Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) 5-ton truck." The guided missiles supplied to the war-torn country reportedly have a range of up to 50 miles.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's military posted a video claiming to show its forces using a HIMARS launcher to destroy a Russian TOS-1A "Blazing Sun" rocket activator. The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) post was captioned with "HIMARS time is always the best time!"

In November 2023, the SSO also shared footage that purportedly showed a Russian command vehicle being destroyed by a U.S.-supplied HIMARS.

The U.S. has provided 39 HIMARS to Kyiv in its various military aid packages, with Ukrainian officials consistently praising the impact of HIMARS in its fight against Russia's invasion.

However, some have been critical of the limited HIMARS ammunition the U.S. has provided to Ukraine. Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, wrote in an opinion piece published on January 1 by The Wall Street Journal that the U.S. has denied Ukrainians the weapons they need.

He wrote Ukraine only being able to attack within 50 miles of the front leaves strikes against Russian forces in Crimea off limits. HIMARS can also fire a single missile with a range of 186 miles, but the U.S. reportedly hasn't supplied Ukraine with these weapons.

"In depriving the Ukrainians of the ability to mount a sustained, long-range campaign against Russia, the administration is leaving Kyiv without the capability it needs to win," O'Brien wrote.

The same opinion has been shared by other military experts. Retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, has also called for Ukraine to get the full capabilities to strike targets in Crimea, which Russia annexed from the country in 2014.

"The [Biden] administration still seems to have a fear of providing long-range precision strike capability, which Ukraine might use against targets inside Russia," Hodges previously told Newsweek.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense and Ukraine's Ministry of Defense via email for additional comments.

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