HIMARS Strike Wipes Out Concentration of Russian Troops, Video Shows

A large number of Russian troops were killed in a Ukrainian High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) attack on the Russian-occupied part of the southern Kherson region Wednesday, according to reports.

Hours after tens of Russian soldiers were reported to have died close to the front lines in eastern Ukraine when Kyiv attacked a training ground with U.S.-supplied HIMARS, reports emerged that Ukraine carried out another strike in a different region.

The U.S.-supplied HIMARS have allowed Ukraine to destroy Russia's most advanced anti-aircraft missile systems. In October 2023, footage purportedly showed the aftermath of a HIMARS strike on a Russian battalion.

The Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState reported that the attack was carried out on a training ground located near the village of Podo-Kalynivka in occupied Kherson. The BBC Russian Service, citing a source in Ukrainian special services, reported that the attack took place in the same location.

An unverified video that purportedly shows the moment the strike hit the Russian troops has circulated on Telegram channels. Newsweek has contacted Russian and Ukrainian authorities for comment by email.

Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli reported that at least 60 Russian troops were killed in the Kherson attack.

The Kremlin hasn't commented on the incident. Newsweek contacted the Ukrainian military and the Russian Defense Ministry for comment on Wednesday for further information about the reported strike.

"Mass liquidation of Russians near Podo-Kalynivka in the Kherson region," said Serhii Sternenko, a Ukrainian activist in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that "not everyone survived" the HIMARS strike.

"Another Ukrainian HIMARS/GMLRS strike on Russians assembled on a training ground, this time in Kherson," wrote Jimmy Rushton, a Kyiv-based foreign policy and security analyst. "A significant number of casualties are clearly visible."

Earlier, Serhiy Bratchuk, a Ukrainian official in southern Ukraine, said Kyiv's forces attacked a training area for Russian troops close to the Donetsk city of Volnovakha with HIMARS.

He said in a post on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that the strike killed around 65 Russian soldiers near the village of Trudivske, where units of Russia's 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade were stationed.

Citing several anonymous sources, the BBC's Russian service reported that Kyiv's military used two missiles in the strike.

Bratchuk published two unverified graphic videos that he said showed the "consequences" of the HIMARS attack.

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