Ukraine deployed HIMARS artillery to attack the gathering point of Russian soldiers in Zaporizhzhia province, claiming to have killed “dozens” of enemy soldiers.
On November 17, the Ukrainian Army Command posted a video shot by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a thermal imaging camera of the 128th Independent Mountain Assault Brigade, showing many Russian soldiers and equipment gathered. near a grove of trees next to a road in Zaporizhzhia province.
The UAV then transferred the coordinates to the 15th Independent Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade of Ukraine to conduct an attack with HIMARS rocket artillery.
The first rocket fell on the main road, about ten meters away from the group of Russian soldiers, and the second rocket hit a group of soldiers in the trees. The third missile continued to fly down the main road, close to the first bullet’s landing point. The attack left many Russian soldiers lying motionless on the ground, whether killed or injured is unknown.
Ukrainian HIMARS artillery “double raided” a squad of Russian soldiers in Zaporizhzhia province in a video posted on November 17. Video: Ukrainian Army Command
Several ambulances were then dispatched to evacuate wounded soldiers and collect bodies. At this moment, Ukrainian artillery launched another cluster shell, causing hundreds of submunitions to rain down on the target location.
“Dozens of Russian soldiers were killed, many weapons and military equipment were destroyed,” the Ukrainian Army Command said. Militarnyithe Ukrainian army’s web portal, said that the raid took place near the village of Tavria in the Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia province.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on the information.
Russia currently controls more than 70% of Zaporizhzhia province, one of the four provinces Moscow announced to annex at the end of 2022. However, the capital city of Zaporizhzhia is still held by Ukraine.
Russian and Ukrainian forces have repeatedly suffered heavy casualties due to enemy attacks when they gathered in large numbers since the beginning of the conflict. The 128th Independent Mountain Assault Brigade, the unit that discovered the gathering point of Russian soldiers on November 17, also suffered heavy damage because of the same mistake.
The 128th Brigade in November 2023 gathered about 100 soldiers, including the best artillerymen, in the village of Dimitrovo in Zaporizhzhia province to organize an award ceremony. Russia detected the event and fired an Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile at the target, killing at least 19 soldiers of this Brigade.