Media: Ukraine hits Russian command post in occupied Kherson Oblast

Dinara Khalilova, The Kyiv Independent news desk
·2 min read
20

A Ukrainian HIMARS strike hit a temporary Russian command post in the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast during a meeting of Russian officers, Hromadske media outlet reported, citing its source in Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

Eight officers from Russia's 70th Motorized Rifle Division were killed, and seven more were injured, Hromadske wrote on Sept. 26. The media outlet's source said the attack occurred recently but didn't specify the date.

Hromadske wrote the targeted command post was located near Kherson, referring to the Russian-held east bank of the Dnipro River, but didn't provide further details.

Schemes, an investigative project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, later wrote it has geolocated a video of the strike provided by the SBU sources. According to Schemes, the HIMARS attack occurred in occupied Radensk, some 30 kilometers southeast of Kherson.

The SBU has not publicly commented on the attack.

According to another Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing its source in the SBU, Ukrainian forces struck the command post on Sept. 18.

Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Kherson and other settlements on the river's west bank in November 2022, pushing Russian forces to the east bank, from where they have been regularly firing at the liberated areas.

Read also: Why is Russia so vulnerable to HIMARS in Ukraine?

Since June 2022, the Ukrainian military has been using U.S.-provided HIMARS, short for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, for precise strikes on Russia's military targets in occupied territories of Ukraine.

The GPS-guided rockets of the HIMARS system, able to hit targets at long range with pinpoint accuracy, have been credited with turning the tide of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, the HIMARS missiles that Ukraine currently uses have a range of 80 kilometers and cannot reach many Russian-occupied areas.

After Kyiv's months-long lobbying campaign, U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly pledged to provide Ukraine with a small number of long-range ATACMS missiles with a range of roughly 300 kilometers.

Read also: US will reportedly give ATACMS to Ukraine. Will it change the war?

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