Russian Video Appears to Show Two HIMARS Launchers Destroyed in Strike

Russia's government has published new footage claiming to show the targeting of two Ukrainian High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) shortly after the U.S. authorized a significant new chunk of military aid for Ukraine, including additional firepower.

Moscow said on Thursday that a brief video posted to its social media showed "the destruction of two U.S.-made HIMARS," but did not provide any additional details about when, or where, the footage was filmed.

Newsweek could not independently verify the clip, and has reached out to the Ukrainian military for comment.

To date, the U.S. has provided 39 HIMARS to Ukraine, plus ammunition for the systems. Kyiv's forces have been using HIMARS since the summer of 2022, and have lauded the impact of the systems, which can be used to fire long-range ATACMS, also provided by Washington.

Late last month, U.S. lawmakers approved new military aid worth tens of billions of dollars for its allies, including Ukraine. The fresh assistance had spent months ensnared in Congress, prompting deep concerns in Kyiv and among Ukraine's Western supporters.

Ukraine is heavily dependent on its Western allies, particularly the U.S., for sustaining its war effort and supplies of systems like multiple rocket launchers and other artillery systems, as well as the ammunition needed to keep them firing. The Department of Defense said military aid heading for Ukraine would include ammunition for HIMARS.

Russia has said it has destroyed several Ukrainian-operated HIMARS, but it is unclear how many have been damaged or permanently taken out of action. In mid-March, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow had taken out six Ukrainian HIMARS since the start of 2024.

Footage widely circulated online appeared to confirm the loss of at least one HIMARS earlier this year. "It is interesting that the HIMARS survived for such a long period" without a confirmed hit, Pavel Luzin, a Russian military analyst and visiting scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, told Newsweek in early March.

Western analysts and Ukrainian sources have said that Russia has adapted its techniques, shortening the time between locating key Ukrainian assets and striking the equipment before Kyiv can move systems like HIMARS elsewhere.

Ukraine has repeatedly publicized what it says shows Kyiv's HIMARS strikes on vital Russian assets.

In February, a Ukrainian official in the south of the country said tens of Russian soldiers had died in eastern Ukraine after Kyiv attacked a Russian training ground with HIMARS close to the Donetsk city of Volnovakha. Ukraine has reportedly carried out a number of HIMARS attacks on positions with high concentrations of Russian troops.