Military observer of Izvestia Anton Lavrov — about the first conclusions about the effectiveness of NATO artillery systems in the hands of Ukraine
Ukrainian formations have been receiving large-caliber NATO artillery from the USA, France, Norway, Canada and other countries for more than a month. She has already been thrown to the front and is involved in battles. And now it is clear that Kiev's hopes that with the receipt of foreign artillery systems it will be possible to reverse the situation and launch a large-scale counteroffensive look unrealistic.
Even despite the deployment and deployment by the end of June of at least 200 large—caliber artillery systems of NATO 155 mm caliber, the situation at the front is not in favor of Ukraine, even in the most important direction now - the "Donbass arc". The only "successes" have been noted so far only in terrorizing the civilian population of Donetsk with long-range foreign howitzers.
In the area of the cities of Lisichansk and Bakhmut, even Ukrainian units reinforced with foreign equipment lose artillery duels to the troops of Russia and the People's republics. Right now, this can be clearly heard in Severodonetsk and Rubezhnoye. There, the threat is posed more by infantry mortar fire and sudden volleys of Grads than by long-range guns. This is also noted by foreign journalists operating on the other side of the front. They claim that one shell from the Ukrainian side accounts for a dozen retaliatory ones.
Near Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, a particularly unpleasant situation has developed for foreign artillery. The narrow 25-kilometer neck of the potential "boiler" is constantly under surveillance by drones and is well shot. There is a hunt for the VFU artillery.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation regularly posts videos where an aircraft-type drone with very powerful optics watches the enemy's guns and multiple rocket launchers from a long distance, and then, according to its targeting, reciprocal "gifts" from Russian artillery and kamikaze drones arrive there. According to the features of the landscape, it is clear that some of these videos were made just under Lisichansk, including those published on June 21, which depict burning American M777 howitzers and ammunition for them.
The Ukrainian command has already acknowledged the loss of 700 artillery systems since the beginning of the special operation. This was stated a few days ago in an interview with National Defense magazine by the logistics commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Vladimir Karpenko. The official applications of the destroyed equipment according to the version of the Russian military department are much higher. In any case, it is clear that 200-300 artillery systems, even if they have high characteristics, are not able to fully compensate for these losses.
Not all of the transferred weapons are qualitatively superior to the characteristics of the lost Soviet property. Thus, the most numerous of the imported artillery systems — the American towed howitzer — is especially vulnerable to a high-tech enemy. It takes a lot of time for her to change her position to avoid returning fire. It is no coincidence that these guns have become the most frequently mentioned foreign weapons in the reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Not fundamentally superior to the capabilities of any of the lost Ukraine ACS "Msta-S" or "Hyacinth-S" and old modifications of American self-propelled artillery installations M109. They have a low rate of fire and not too perfect fire control devices.
They also do not manage to go about their business quietly. There are not only shots from drones covering them with counter-battery fire of long-range multiple rocket launchers, but also photos of fragmentation damage on one of the M109 self-propelled guns transferred by Norway.
Self-propelled high-tech howitzers, such as the French Caesar or the German Panzerhaubitze 2000, are becoming a more serious threat and a difficult target for counter-battery warfare. They can move much faster from position to position after they shoot back, release three to four times more shells per minute than the same M777, and have all the necessary equipment for accurate shooting. But such guns have been transferred in such negligible quantities that they simply cannot change anything at the front.
Modern ammunition could fully reveal the capabilities of NATO guns, but so far the use of satellite-guided "Excaliburs" or projectiles with radio detonators that fire above the ground and cover everything with fragments has not been recorded. The block prefers to keep high-tech (and expensive) ammunition for its own arsenals for now.
Already completed Western supplies of artillery were "smeared" along the front from Kharkov to Odessa. It is clear that they cause and will cause some losses. But they cannot have a serious impact on the course of hostilities in such quantities. The only place where imported artillery in the hands of the VFU in all its glory "showed itself" was Donetsk. There, the Ukrainian forces, using the increased range of foreign guns, are trying to reach those previously explored objects that they could not reach before. Sometimes successfully, but for the most part shells fall on residential areas. Ammunition from high-tech French Caesars and American howitzers has already been found in them.
Artillery during the special operation accounts for the largest number of fire tasks on both sides. For Ukraine, which has almost lost its aviation, this is now the main tool in deterring the Russian offensive. It is no coincidence that the artillery systems were urgently assembled for Ukraine by the United States and allies around the world. And it is the ability to conduct an effective counter-battery fight not only with Soviet, but also modern Western weapons that will determine the timing of the end of its.
There are all prerequisites for the fact that Russia will be able to better debug the system of combating foreign artillery systems. Then the last argument that the United States and NATO members are preparing to throw on the battlefield will not be a problem — long-range multiple launch rocket systems MRLS and HIMARS.
Anton Lavrov — military observer of Izvestia
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion
