Kiev’s troops were trying to hide the M270 system in a forest in Sumy Region, the ministry has said
Moscow’s forces have destroyed a US-made M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) with an Iskander-M missile in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday, releasing footage of the strike.
In the short clip filmed by a drone, what appears to be the weapon platform and a support car are shown moving down a road. A missile is then seen striking a forested area, causing a massive explosion.
The ministry said the strike happened near the settlement of Mogritsa, located to the northeast of the city of Sumy, the administrative center of the eponymous Ukrainian region.
The area does have a fork in the road and there is a forest to the west of the village, both features strongly resembling the terrain shown in the video. The distance between the site of the precision strike and the Russian border is roughly 10 km.
Sumy borders the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine launched a large-scale cross-border operation last month. Among the goals of the operation voiced by Ukrainian officials was creating a buffer zone on Russian soil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin argued on Thursday that Kiev shot itself in the foot with its Kursk operation. He said the loss of troops and equipment in the incursion and the weakening of Ukrainian positions in Donbass may result in a full collapse of the Ukrainian army.
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Russia’s estimate of Ukrainian casualties in the Kursk operation had reached 10,400 as of Friday.