VIDEO: HIMARS Strike Targets Russian Troops Training Ground

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have successfully targeted a Russian training ground, reportedly with a missile carrying a cluster warhead. A video of the strike was shared by the Southern Defense Forces on Facebook on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

The strike, which was likely carried out by the US-made missiles, marks at least the sixth time in the past eight months that Russian soldiers gathered in open areas within range of Ukrainian missiles were attacked.

It was reported that around 20 Russian troops along with military equipment were present at the time, though details of any casualties have yet to be confirmed.

Multiple Telegram channels and media outlets, including Forbes, claimed that the strike occurred in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Kyiv Post hasn't been able to independently verify these claims.

The Southern Defense Forces did not mention either the location or the Ukrainian unit that carried out the strike.

Forbes said that the 27th Missile Artillery Brigade carried out the attack which it said was “the Ukrainian army's sole unit operating American-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems launchers (HIMARS).”

Researchers from the Kyiv Post said this assertion was not entirely accurate. Although the team was unable to obtain precise information on the details of AFU brigades equipped with HIMARS, they identified at least one otherl unit, the 59th Yakiv Handziuk Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade, has used the weapon.

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The footage shows Ukrainian drone spotting about 15 Russian soldiers training at the site and apparently relaying the coordinates to the AFU unit operating the HIMARS system.

The brigade launches an M30/31 missile loaded with submunitions that directly hits the target, with drone footage showing the devastating impact of the explosion, suggesting significant losses.

Russian troops frequently conduct exercises in open terrain within the range of Ukrainian missiles, raising questions about their operational strategies.

In a similar attack in June, the Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported via Telegram along with video how using drones and HIMARS, it had spotted and struck a concentration of Russian troops in the country’s occupied southern sector.

Overall, such multiple strikes this year have resulted in more than 100 Russian casualties.