A video has emerged on social media of a purported missile strike on a concentration of Russian troops in occupied Luhansk.
A volley of four missiles allegedly struck a Russian military training and coordination center over about 90 seconds.
The site was geolocated around 78 kilometers (48 miles) from the frontline near the town of Kuban.
The timing is unknown, but multiple media outlets suggested it occurred recently.
Seems like 🇺🇦did another ATACMS strike near Kuban, Luhansk.
Action starts at 03:50. A dud and 3 hits within a minute. pic.twitter.com/aGP4cWKY07
— JB Schneider (@JohnB_Schneider) May 1, 2024
Strikes
Captured by a drone camera, the roughly 6 minutes of footage shows the first of three explosions at around the 4-minute mark, around 10 seconds after a dud or spent dispenser landing in the area.
The blast was followed by a plume of smoke from the detonating submunitions.
A little less than 90 seconds later, another explosion takes place a short distance away, followed by another seconds later.
The ATACMS
The strike’s range and blast envelope suggest the use of the US-supplied MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System or ATACMS.
The first tranche of 20 short-range variant ATACMS were delivered to Ukraine in October last year, capable of striking 165 kilometers (102 miles) away.
Ukrainian forces struck Russian air bases in occupied Berdyansk and Luhansk with the missiles the same month.
A similar batch of longer-range variants arrived in March this year and were used to strike the Russian-held Crimea peninsula on 30 March.
The longer range variant has a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles).
Another possible missile Ukraine might have used in the strike is the Tochka-U SRBMs, which can be equipped with a cluster warhead and has a range of 120 kilometers (74 miles).
Ukrainian Analysis
According to Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musiienko, the targeted Russian troops were preparing for an attack on neighboring Kharkiv, most of which was liberated by Ukrainian forces by late 2022.
“Such strikes in the Luhansk region are crucial,” RBC-Ukraine quoted the head of the Ukraine’s Center for Military-Legal Studies as saying.
“It’s precisely in the territory of the northeastern part of the Luhansk region that Russia has been training and coordinating its units, which were specifically preparing for an escalation of hostilities in the Kharkiv region, where Russia plans to reinforce its advance.”
“The goal is to slow down the enemy’s offensive actions. Not allowing them to deploy into combat formations. While we await more advanced weaponry, it’s crucial to use what we have, namely ATACMS, to strike the enemy in their rear and prevent them from advancing to the front line,” he concluded.
