Ukraine HIMARS Destroy Entire Russian Artillery Battery

The Ukrainians continue their methodical destruction of Russian artillery in order to weaken defenses in front of counteroffensive. JL 

Giulia Carbonaro and Brendan Cole report in Newsweek:

Russia has lost a total of over 790 troops, 10 tanks, 20 armored personnel vehicles (APVs), and 26 artillery systems in the 24 hours between Saturday July 1 and Sunday July 2. Ukrainian artillerymen used HIMARS to destroy a battery of Russian howitzers in the Donetsk region. Drone footage shows explosions and smoke going into the air at the purported locations of the vehicles and what appear to be fleeing troops.

Russia has lost a total of over 790 troops, 10 tanks, 20 armored personnel vehicles (APVs), and 26 artillery systems in the 24 hours between Saturday July 1 and Sunday July 2, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The daily estimates from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which have not been confirmed by Russian authorities, were published on social media on Sunday.

Since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, Ukrainian authorities estimate that Russia lost over 200,000 troops, more than 4,000 tanks, over 7,800 APVs, and more than 4,000 artillery systems.

Ukraine's armed forces released footage they said shows strikes using the U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launcher against Russian targets.

On Saturday, Ukraine's General Staff shared a minute-long clip on social media that begins with a drone shot, from a distance, of locations where it indicated four Msta-S self-propelled howitzers were positioned in a field.

The video then segues into different angles of a Lockhead-designed High Mobility Artillery Rocket System firing into the air. It is not clear if there are several launchers or just different shots of the one system that has been effective in Ukraine's war effort.

Drone footage shows explosions and smoke going into the air at the purported locations of the vehicles and what appear to be fleeing troops.

"Disposal of Russian SAU Msta-C," the armed forces wrote in a Facebook post next to the clip, adding, "We will stand up and overcome!"

As of Saturday, Russian forces had lost 257 Msta howitzers since the start of their full-scale invasion, according to the website Oryx which tracks equipment losses on both sides.

Ukraine's armed forces released footage it said showed Ukrainian artillerymen used HIMARS to destroy a battery of Russian howitzers in the Donetsk region.

Another clip allegedly shows aerial footage of Russian military vehicles being hit from the air by the Ukrainian military intelligence unit 130th ORB.

It comes as British officials said on Saturday that Ukraine has "almost certainly" restarted deploying personnel to the east bank of the Dnieper River near the ruined Antonovskiy Bridge where fighting has intensified.