Ukraine released footage of a HIMARS strike on Russians gathering out in the open on a beach, saying it took out 200 troops

Matthew Loh
Updated ·2 min read
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  • Ukraine on Tuesday published footage of a HIMARS strike on Russian units deployed to a sandbank.

  • The clip appeared to show soldiers stretching and exercising, as well as lining up in the open.

  • Ukraine said it caused 200 casualties at Dzharylhach island, which is reported to be a training ground.

Ukraine said Tuesday that it launched a successful HIMARS attack on five Russian units gathering on a beach and that it caused 200 casualties.

The country's National Resistance Center, run by the Ukrainian military, posted drone footage of the attack on Facebook, saying it "destroyed" dozens of troops and Russian equipment.

The Facebook account said the precision attack was aided by information provided by local sources.

The video appeared to show soldiers standing in plain sight on a shore. Some clips showed troops stretching and exercising, while others recorded rows of men assembling out in the open.

The footage then showed a HIMARS munition striking a cluster of trees where the soldiers had gathered. Several trucks were also visible.

The Ukrainian news outlet Euromaidan Press reported that the attack was carried out on Dzharylhach island, a thin sandbank stretching 26 miles in the Black Sea. It is located in the Russian-occupied Kherson oblast.

Russian camps on Dzharylhach were more than 50 miles from the contact line, Euromaidan Press reported.

The outlet reported "up to 200 Russian soldiers were lost," though it's unclear how many died or were injured.

On July 23, the US-based defense think tank The Institute for Study of War wrote that Russian forces had "recently established training grounds on Dzharylhach Island." Active units pulled from the front lines in Kherson were sent to these camps to recover, the think tank added.

Ukraine's HIMARS strike video comes less than a month after both a Ukrainian official and a Russian military blogger reported that a Russian unit had been hit by HIMARS after being told to stand still for two hours and wait for a commander's speech.

HIMARS are long-range precision rocket launchers given to Ukraine by Washington. They have an effective range of about 50 miles.

The National Resistance Center and Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

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