Ukrainian Artillery

How does the new Ukrainian artillery change the course of the war?

In the third month of Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine, artillery became one of the most important elements of hostilities. It is largely tied to both success in defense and offensive. How do Ukrainian guns work at the front? What kind of heavy assistance has Ukraine already received and can soon receive? And what problems do Ukrainian artillerymen have to confront during the war?

May 15, 2022 – Слабкі місця російської армії. Росія робить тактичні помилки. Українська артилерія змінює перебіг боїв на Донбасі. Нові американські гаубиці вже на фронті. Як українська армія застосовує гаубицю М777. Україна чекає на нові поставки західної зброї. Знищені танки, бронетранспортери: реальні втрати російської армії в Україні.

00:00 Українська артилерія на війні
04:05 Гаубиця М777
08:13 Західна артилерія: М109, Panzerhaubitze 2000, Caesar
11:17 Розгром російської військової техніки. Сіверський Донець, Білогорівка
12:42 Донецька область. Фронт
16:02 Реактивна артилерія. Град, Ураган, Смерч
17:12 HIMARS, MLRS
18:25 Оборона Києва.

Робота української артилерії Дивіться випуски “Донбас Реалії” 👉 http://bit.ly/donbassrealii

May 21, 2022 – “Reconnaissance, artillery, reconnaissance, infantry, cleanup” – the algorithm of the Ukrainian army’s work in the war now looks like. We are lucky to get to the positions of one of the most effective motorized brigades to the east of Kharkiv. In the region, Russian troops are pushed to the border. “I would have gone further,” “Barracuda,” the squadron commander told us, “but it is more clear to the higher command and the higher one there.” Artillery plays a crucial role in the chain of effectiveness of the Ukrainian army because, for the most part, the Russian-Ukrainian war is a war of artillery.

We witness an artillery barrage in support of infantry, which counterattacks to liberate the next Ukrainian village. First reconnaissance, then aiming, then “Carnations” [2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery]. The difference between the war of 2022 and the war of 2014-2015, where artillerymen also worked, is that now, almost immediately after our artillery fires, Russian artillery begins to counterfire back at our artillery positions. It is necessary to work very quickly and effectively to fire a maximum of three shots on target, then move very quickly to a new location – very quickly – so as not to become a counterbattery target yourself.

May 30, 2022 – Sky’s Alex Crawford exclusively reports from the frontline with the 93rd Brigade in eastern Ukraine as they position rockets to strike Russian forces.

June 10, 2022 – A Ukrainian artillery unit in the Donbas region uses the latest long-range artillery import, the French Caesar howitzer. The self-propelled 155mm gun can hit targets up to 38 kilometers away and is highly mobile. One soldier told RFE/RL on June 8 that the system was easy to use.

June 24, 2022 – How artillery works – Featuring the M777 Howitzer.

August 8, 2022 – We joined a Ukrainian Army crew manning a German Panzerhaubitze 2000, a self-propelled, long-range howitzer, as it opened fire on Russian positions. After firing a salvo, the crew hid the weapon system among trees and broken branches. They said Russian drones were hunting the howitzers.

August 31, 2022 – Borys Sachalko joined a Ukrainian crew in a Krab self-propelled howitzer. The four-man team used to operate a Soviet-era Msta-S howitzer and say the new Polish-built Krab is faster, easier to operate, and more accurate.

October 5, 2022 – The Ukrainian Army’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade is using a captured self-propelled howitzer, a 2S5 Giatsint-S, to hit back against Moscow’s forces with their own shells. Several were captured after the retreat by Russian troops from the Kharkiv region during a sweeping Ukrainian counteroffensive.

October 9, 2022 – Czech Republic RM 70 VAMPIR 122MM MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System – Over the years, the proven RM-70 rocket launcher has become the backbone of the ground rocket units of the Czechoslovak and Czech armies and many others. It can no longer meet the demands of the modern battlefield, but it still offers the potential of an effective artillery system. the company EXCALIBUR ARMY presented its successor named RM-70 Vampire in March last year . As part of the Czechoslovak holding GROUP (CSG), EXCALIBUR ARMY has specialized, among other things, in the modernization of combat systems that have been proven over the years.

Many soldiers have retired old missile launchers in previous years, but recent conflicts have shown that they are still an effective means of fire support. The original RM-70 rocket launcher is mounted on the Tatra t 813 chassis, the RM-70 Vampire uses a completely new Tatra Force platform (formerly known as the T 815-7). It is equipped with a four-seater cabin, which also provides protection against biological and chemical weapons and also allows the installation of additional ballistic protection. The engine is powered by an eight-cylinder Tatra T3C with a power of 270 kW, the power is transferred to the wheels by a Tatra 10ts 210n gearbox with a Tatra Norgren semi-automatic shifting system and an additional Tatra 2.30 TRS gearbox.

The range of RM-70 Vampire is about a thousand kilometers, while on the road he develops speed up to 90 km/h. The RM-70 Vampire rocket launcher can direct concentrated fire at larger areas occupied by the enemy and destroy manpower and combat equipment. It allows firing one round or shot, the rocket is launched by the operator from the vehicle cabin or from a nearby protected trench using the remote control. The Vampire has a bundle of 40 122 mm rocket launchers, which are already loaded in the rocket launcher configuration. Another 40 rockets were placed in the charging mechanism directly in the rocket launcher, the average total firing was 80 rockets.

October 19, 2022 – The FH70 155-millimeter howitzer has been used by NATO countries for over 40 years. The letters and number actually stand for Field Howitzer for the 1970s. Ukrainian forces first got their hands on them courtesy of Italy in May and received training in Estonia.

October 27, 2022 – Ukrainian troops are targeting Russian-launched drones, fighter planes, and helicopters, using Soviet-era antiaircraft systems with limited radar capabilities.

October 31, 2022 – Polish-made Krab howitzers are powerful and surprisingly comfortable to operate, according to Ukrainian crews fighting in the Dontesk region. But such large weapons are desirable drone targets, so the crews are careful to remain vigilant and stay under cover.

November 29, 2022 – Ukrainian troops say M777 howitzers change the course of battle in Donetsk region. Ukrainian artillery crews make regular use of the Western-supplied M777 howitzer and say it has had a major impact against Russian forces. Crews operating one in a muddy field in the Donetsk region say the key to its success is its targeting precision.

December 7, 2022 – After rolling Bureviy rocket launchers out of their hiding places in the woods of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian artillery teams can quickly start firing rounds at their enemy. Crews say they regularly stop the advance of Russian infantry with the upgraded version of the Soviet Uragan system.

December 27, 2022 – The 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk is now defending the Eastern direction. In this they are helped by equipment that the Ukrainian military managed to win in the South. How the trophy Msta-B works on the trenches of the Russians – in the hromadske report. The material was created in frame of «Life in War» project with the support of Public Interest Journalism Lab and IWM

December 29, 2022 – Ukrainian gunners have learned to be versatile in their adoption of artillery pieces sent from various nations offering support. Targeting Russian invaders effectively in at least one case means mastering older Estonian-donated howitzers. Finnish shells are favored by one Zaporizhzhya team.

January 18, 2023 – “Our sweat will always protect your blood.” – The smaller brothers of artillerymen are called mortars. The guys stand a few kilometers away from the enemy and cover our infantrymen who are entrenched in new positions. All their work is accompanied by the whistling of enemy shells overhead and explosions somewhere 100-200 meters away, but these soldiers are used to it and do not pay attention to art duels. The Ukrainian Witness visited the mortars and this is what he saw through the lens of the video camera.

00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Interview with Groot, who talks about the success of his calculation in this direction
01:20 – Briefly about combat training
01:40 – Interview with the grenade launcher Hedgehog
03:07 – Groot tells how they congratulated the enemy on Independence Day
03:55 – How does the interaction between the mortar calculation and the headquarters take place?
04:50 – Interview with Lys, who talks about trophy mines and compares them with foreign ones
05:50 – Gunner Tokar “The success of work depends on teamwork”
06:15 – Groot tells what brings him the greatest satisfaction in his work

January 28, 2023 – The “Ogre” pulls the Executioner. Have you ever seen one Pion self-propelled 203mm cannon pulling another? This can only be seen in a report by hromadske. “Pions” are working on the hottest part of the frontline from Soledar to Bakhmut. Now the main target is the Wagnerites, who are entrenched in Soledar, which they captured in early January. From there, the Russians are trying to put pressure on our defense in order to seize the Sloviansk-Bakhmut highway and cut off the city’s supply lines. Another direction of their attack is the Kostyantynivka-Bakhmut highway. One of the tasks of these guns, which are the largest in the Ukrainian army, is to prevent the Ukrainian army from blocking this supply route as well. “The Pions are equipped with 203-millimeter caliber shells that can penetrate concrete fortifications to a depth of 8 meters on the first hit.

This time, hromadske witnessed the work of “Pions” to accumulate manpower in Soledar. They fired 9 shells, after which one of the guns broke down. One “Pion” pulled the other one back, but within an hour both vehicles were back on the battlefield. The intensity of the fighting and artillery – both ours and the enemy’s in this area – is so high that the equipment often simply cannot withstand it. The most difficult thing about the work of artillerymen here is this problem: the equipment needs to be constantly repaired and at the same time constantly working. There are almost no days without going to the battlefield. While other types of artillery do not stop working even for 5 minutes. There is a growing number of artillery, in particular Western artillery. As well as artillerymen. hromadske witnessed the initiation into artillery of an IT guy who received a summon only two months ago at a checkpoint in Lviv. Now he is a platoon commander.

February 3, 2023 – Ukrainian artillery in Bakhmut make life hell for Russian infantry!

February 26, 2023 – «We are protecting our infantry» is how Vitalii, commander of an artillery unit, describes his work when he gives the order to сharge a Soviet D-30 howitzer. Since September 2022, the «Mutti» artillery unit has been helping infantrymen to repel Russian attacks near Marinka. When hromadske was filming the work of this artillery unit in early February, the Russian military went on the offensive and tried to storm the positions of the 79th Air Assault Brigade. «Mutti» platoon commander says that Russians attack these positions every three to four days. And the gunners try to cover the infantrymen.

March 7, 2023 – How one mighty Ukrainian artillery brigade crushes Russians using legendary Soviet “Peony” and German-made PzH 2000s. Both of these weapons are being put to good use by the 43rd Artillery Brigade of Great Power, who bravely continue to liberate Ukrainian land, meter by meter.

00:00 – Bakhmut, 🇺🇦 artillery in action
00:25 – Soviet Pion 2S7
03:00 – German-made PzH 2000

March 10, 2023 – Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the U.S. and its allies have supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars of weapons systems and ammunition. But keeping the material flowing for this bruising war is proving a challenge for arms manufacturers. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante joins Nick Schifrin to discuss.

March 16, 2023 – Ukrainian troops use whatever comes to hand in their battles against invading Russian forces. RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir visited a unit near Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, armed with French mortars dating from 1973.

March 18, 2023 – Panzerhaubitze 2000 is a German self-propelled artillery gun that, on paper, is one of the most accurate and reliable in the world. But it has proved itself in battle, too. Ukrainian artillerymen are very happy with the results that this gun provides. Olena Hramova was in the Donetsk region to show you PzH 2000 in combat action.

March 23, 2023 – “We deployed in a field, fired several mortar rounds, and a package of Grad MLRS rockets hit us.” Mortar crews of the 59th Brigade are working in the Donetsk direction, one and a half kilometers from the Russian positions. They destroy enemy military hardware and help Ukrainian infantry repel enemy assaults. Members of one of the crews joke that they are not tired because they rested while they treated their wounds in the hospital. Our journalists, Ksiusha Savoskina and Oleksii Nikulin, in February 2023, visited the positions of the 59th Brigade mortar crews. Watch the video to understand how Ukrainian mortar crews “work.”

April 4, 2023 – The AGS-17 auto grenade launcher combined with drones are now mini artillery by the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian military. It’s also known as Playma; Russian for flame, is a 30mm automatic grenade launcher which is often seen in the thick of the fighting in Ukraine. Despite being over 50 years old, this weapon remains a force to be reckoned with and is still used extensively by militaries around the world. In this video, we will explore the history, development, and specifications of the AGS-17 before turning our attention to the innovative tactics employed by Ukrainian and Russian forces using this weapon.

April 11, 2023 – What it feels like to be under artillery fire.

May 13, 2023 – What does effective teamwork within the Ukrainian Armed Forces look like? We join two units working together to destroy Russian targets with the help of modern military equipment provided by Ukraine’s Western partners: the Polish drone FlyEye, which was purchased as part of the Army of Drones project, and the French-made CAESAR, a highly mobile artillery system, supplied by French partners.

July 6, 2023 – The M982 Excalibur shells, equipped with GPS guidance, provide a remarkable advancement in artillery capabilities. Equipped with base bleed aggregate, four canards, and rotating stabilization wings, they possess aircraft-like maneuverability. With a range of 25 miles, these shells offer a significantly longer reach compared to conventional counterparts while maintaining a striking accuracy of within seven feet of the intended target. Remarkably, this accuracy remains consistent regardless of the distance between the gun and the target, thanks to the shells’ Circular Error Probability of less than 33 feet. Upon launch, the Excalibur shells deploy fins that allow for precise trajectory adjustments, ensuring precise hits on designated locations.

July 16, 2023 – While systems like tanks, jets and cruise missiles tend to capture the public imagination, the war in Ukraine in 2023 is largely being fought with much the same tools as it was in 2022 – artillery. The constant exchange of fire has been critical to the battle, enabling attrition, blunting attacks and enabling advances. Both sides have continued to adapt, trying to refine their tactics and capabilities while wearing down their opponent.

But in this attritional struggle, losses and resupply of systems, barrels and ammunition matter, not just tactics. Ukraine now finds itself in an ammunition deficit – trying to attack at a time where its allies have not yet ramped up production enough to readily meet its needs. It’s in that context that the US recently announced the supply of cluster munitions to refill Ukraine’s ammunition bunkers. Today we look at those munitions, their likely impact, as well as the broader course of the artillery war in Ukraine one year on from my original video on the topic “outgunned”

July 27, 2023 – The Czech-made Multiple Rocket Launch System “Vampire” is the younger, bigger, and more talented brother of the BM-21 Grad. In the skillful hands of Ukrainian artillerymen, the Vampire becomes almost a high-precision weapon. Watch the artillerymen of the 55th Artillery Brigade operating this beast.

September 5, 2023 – Video shows the inside of Russian mortar dugouts, uncovered and now used by Ukrainian soldiers.