HIMARS attack targets Russian troops training area

Ukraine’s armed forces have reportedly successfully attacked a Russian training range with a missile carrying a cluster warhead. A video of the attack was shared on Facebook by the Southern Defense Forces on Tuesday, October 15.

The attack, likely carried out by U.S.-made missiles, is at least the sixth time in the past eight months that Russian soldiers gathered in open areas within range of Ukrainian missiles have been attacked.

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

Several Telegram channels and media outlets, including Forbes, claimed that the attack took place in the occupied Zaporizhia region. The Kyiv Post could not independently verify these claims.

The Southern Defense Forces did not name the location or the Ukrainian unit that carried out the attack.

Forbes said that the attack was carried out by the 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade, which they said was “the only unit of the Ukrainian army to use US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launch vehicles.”

Kyiv Post researchers said this claim is not entirely accurate. Although the team was unable to obtain precise information about the AFU brigades equipped with HIMARS, it identified at least one other unit, the Jakiv Handziuk 59th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade, which used the weapon.

The footage shows a Ukrainian drone spotting about 15 Russian soldiers training on site and apparently relaying the coordinates to the AFU unit that operates the HIMARS system.

The brigade fires an M30/31 rocket loaded with submunitions, which hits the target directly. Drone footage shows the devastating impact of the explosion, suggesting significant casualties.

Russian troops often conduct exercises in open areas within the effective 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 a video how they had used drones and HIMARS to detect and attack a concentration of Russian troops in the occupied southern sector of the country.

In total, such multiple attacks have claimed more than 100 Russian victims this year.