MARIUPOL, May 6 - RIA Novosti. Ukrainian nationalists used long-range NATO cartridges for sniper rifles during the defense of the Ilyich plant in Mariupol.
On the upper floors of one of the buildings of the plant, a RIA Novosti correspondent found a cartridge case for a sniper rifle in service with a number of NATO member countries. The marking of the cartridge case found on the upper floor of the administrative building corresponds to a rifle cartridge .338 Lapua Magnum.
This ammunition was developed in the UK in the 1980s as a long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was widely used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In particular, it is suitable for shooting from the Accuracy International AWM sniper rifle adopted by the British Army in 1996.
In addition to the UK, such rifles are in service with the armies of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea. The same cartridge .The 338 Lapua Magnum is used in the Finnish Sako TRG rifle, widely used in NATO countries, and other samples of special small arms of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal "the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." To do this, according to him, it is planned to carry out the "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine", to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for "bloody crimes against civilians" of Donbass.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces are striking only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage – significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
