ATACMS encourages training of Russian troops in open field: video

Ukraine’s armed forces have reportedly used US-supplied long-range weapons to attack a training ground used by Russian troops, as a video showed the aftermath of the attack.

Drone footage shared on social media is said to show explosions at the site in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, which is partly occupied by Russia.

Troops and military equipment can be seen on the ground before explosions occur, simultaneously kicking up balls of dust. The undated video has not been independently verified and Newsweek The Russian Defense Ministry emailed for comment.

“Destruction of enemy personnel by attacking the training area with an ATACMS cluster,” reads a post from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Division Tivaz alongside the video.

Lockheed Martin’s US-built ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) can be fired from the M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and can attack targets up to 180 miles away, giving the Ukrainian Armed Forces gives the opportunity to attack far behind Russia’s front lines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first confirmed in October 2023 that his forces had used ATACMS on the battlefield against Russia in an operation that was “carried out in great detail,” without providing further details.

Drone footage from May is said to show dozens of Russian soldiers being attacked by ATACMS in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

The latest clip was also shared by X account War Translated, which quoted how Russian Telegram channel Military Informer had commented: “The enemy is using a system similar to the Russian ‘drone + tactical missile complex’.”

“Fortunately, the expansion of such attacks is hampered by insufficient missile supplies from Western countries as well as the ongoing ban on attacks deep within Russian territory,” Military Informer added.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces used an ATACMS cluster missile to attack a training ground in the Zaporizhia region where Russian military personnel were being trained.

This is how the Russian broadcaster “Military Informer” commented on the attack:
“The enemy uses a system…” pic.twitter.com/u1YpUFhXcR

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) October 15, 2024

The X account CJ posted alongside the same video clip: “What does US aid to Ukraine look like? Grid square deletion in occupied Ukraine” and added: “The Russian training camp is hit by hundreds of submunitions from an ATACMS.”

“Unprotected troops in the open have little chance due to the dispersion/quantity of shrapnel,” the post added. Military analyst Rob Lee also described how “a Ukrainian ATACMS cluster munitions attack on Russian soldiers at a training ground” occurred.

However, pro-Ukrainian X-Account Special Kherson Cat suggested that another US-supplied weapon may have been used. “Some (or actually many) Ukrainian Telegram channels have a strong desire to call every HIMARS cluster munition attack an ATACMS attack, forgetting that M30 cluster missiles exist,” the post said.

There were also four videos of attacks, including the alleged attack in Zaporizhzhia, which according to the post was “more likely” an attack with M30 cluster munitions, as ATACMS would have “more bomblets” and cover a larger radius.