A Russian military analyst said on Saturday that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which the United States is providing to Ukraine to help fight Russian forces, will pose a “big problem” for Russia.
On Friday, the White House announced it would provide Ukraine with four additional HIMARS, a weapons system the Pentagon has previously said will have a “significant impact … on the front lines.”
Michael Kofman, who directs the Russian studies program at Virginia-based think tank CNA, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that HIMARS “will help Ukraine achieve some level of parity with Russian artillery and create a large one.” becomes a problem for the Russian military and how they organize both logistics and command and control and how worn down they are on the battlefield.”
In a tweet on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden for the new missile systems.
A Russian military analyst said on Saturday that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which the United States is handing over to Ukraine to help fight Russian forces, will pose a “big problem” for Russia. Pictured above is a HIMARS missile launcher during a military display on June 16. Philip Fong
“Crucially, powerful weapons will save the lives of our soldiers and accelerate our country’s liberation from the Russian aggressor. I appreciate the strategic friendship between our nations. Together to victory!” Zelensky wrote.
Also on Saturday, retired US Army Gen. Mark Hertling said the HIMARS the US is sending to Ukraine is a “game changer,” adding that “Russia is in bad shape and losing,” while “the Ukraine adapts to the fight and wins”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that Ukraine was “effectively using HIMARS” with strikes against Russian command and control nodes, their logistics networks, their field artillery near defense installations, and many other targets.
“These strikes constantly impair Russia’s ability to supply its troops, command and control its armed forces, and conduct its illegal war of aggression,” he added.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
In an interview published on Friday, Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Radio Free Europe that Russia was “apparently at a loss” about the war in Ukraine.
“They don’t know what to do, so they improvise. Putin needs to achieve something that will convince the Russians that he has won, but he cannot,” he said.
Gallyamov’s comments came after statements by Russia’s Foreign Ministry last week suggested that Russia’s territorial ambitions now extend beyond the Donbass region, where forces have been concentrated in recent months.