Ukraine Video Shows HIMARS Hit Russian Military Range as 24 Reported Dead

A video circulating on social media appears to show the moment Kyiv's forces attacked a group of drone pilots at a Russian military training ground in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region with a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

The footage, circulated widely by Ukrainian Telegram channels, was published after Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov reported on the attack, which it was claimed killed 24 drone operators near the city of Ilovaisk on Wednesday.

"Footage emerged apparently showing the HIMARS strike carried out against the Russian UAV training centre in Ilovaisk, Donetsk Oblast," X (formerly Twitter) user Dmitri, from War Translated, an independent project that translates materials about the war, said as he shared the clip on Thursday.

The U.S. has so far donated 39 HIMARS to Ukraine through its military aid packages.

"According to the Russian sources, a number of 'exams' were taking place in this spot. The location of the exams was sent around via Telegram. People gathered together, and vehicles can be seen," he added. "This strike resulted in at least several dozens dead valuable Russian UAV operators."

The 52-second aerial footage shows the moments prior to the strike, and cuts to a cloud of black smoke and fire rising into the sky.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the video and has contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment by email.

Romanov, a pro-Kremlin blogger, said that he was told by some of the drone operators that they could have been struck because the head of their Sudoplatov (or "Judgment Day") group carelessly gave out coordinates on its positions to "strangers" via a bot on "where to come for training."

"The HIMARS have arrived. There are dead," the drone operators allegedly said.

Sudoplatov is a Russian volunteer group that says it produces 1,000 drones per day, Forbes reported in December. Drones have been vital to the war efforts of both Russia and Ukraine in the nearly two-year-old conflict. Russia's ministry of defense said the volunteer group was created in November 2023, state-run news agency Tass reported. It said it is also a school for training drone operators.

The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, said on Thursday that 24 Russian servicemen were killed and four were wounded in the attack.

Russian Telegram channel Astra said the military training ground was struck "presumably from a HIMARS rocket system."

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked a military training ground in occupied Ilovaisk. There are dead and wounded," the channel said. "The number [of casualties] is being established. Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian side officially reported the shelling.

Romanov said the management of the Sudoplatov project is currently "trying to hush up the situation" and pin the blame on those who were killed in the attack.

"No one else was hit at the training ground, although there were more than 150 people there," he wrote.

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