Video of Russia using a suicide drone to attack US artillery, the helpless response of Ukrainian soldiers

In the latest update on “special military operations” in Ukraine on May 18, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russia had hit 147 artillery batteries and mortars at the firing position, including one American-made M99 155mm howitzer in Donetsk.

The Russian Defense Ministry has shared a video of several attacks carried out by the Russian military against US artillery batteries in Ukraine.

With the video above, the ministry claims, Russian drones supported by artillery units removed a US-made M777 155mm howitzer near the village of Podgornoye.

“In the village of Podgornoye, Russian drones and artillery reconnaissance systems established the coordinates of the 155mm M777 howitzers produced by the US and are being used by the Ukrainian army. Russian drone operators attacked the firing position of the US artillery batteries, damaging several batteries,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, after being attacked by a Russian drone, Ukrainian forces tried to flee to a nearby forest to hide. They also dragged artillery batteries into the forest but continued to be attacked by Russian artillery.

“As soon as the Ukrainian fighters gathered in the forest, they continued to be attacked by (Russian) artillery,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The video was later shared on Twitter by Dr Rob Lee, a PhD student in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London.

The researcher believes that the attack can be carried out using a Zala KYB-UAV UAV, also known as KUB-BLA. This is a type of suicide drone manufactured by a subsidiary of the Russian corporation Kalashnikov.

According to Mr. Lee, when the KUB-BLA was rushing down to attack the American artillery, a group of soldiers on the ground was walking towards it. When the explosion happened, the group of soldiers had to rush to scatter away. It is unclear if any soldiers were injured in the attack.

Ukraine has received 90 M777 155mm howitzer systems plus 180,000 rounds from the US since the beginning of the conflict, according to News Week.

A video released by the Ukrainian armed forces last weekend shows that the Ukrainian army has begun using M777 howitzers on the eastern front. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov himself said that 74 of the 90 US M777 cannons supplied to Ukraine were used on the battlefield.

M777 is known as the “king of howitzers” with an effective range of 40 km. Possessing outstanding power and high accuracy, the M777 was even praised by the American media as representing a strong revolution in howitzers.

M777 uses smart guided ammunition Excalibur – the longest range bullet with a target error of only 5m. This has turned the M777 into the most accurate howitzer in the world today.

In addition to this type of ammunition, the M77 howitzer can also fire most of the 155mm bullets currently in service with the US military.

The first M777 guns entered official service with the US Army in 2005. To date, it is estimated that more than a thousand guns are in service with the US Army and a small number are in active service with the Army. countries in the world including Australia, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.

At a press conference a day later, a senior US Department of Defense official said that the rocket artillery the country provided to Ukraine was proving very effective to help Ukrainian forces conduct counter-attacks. public in Donbass.

“We believe the rocket systems are working, especially in Kharkiv. We believe that the systems (cannons) that Ukraine is receiving – not only from the US but also from other countries – is completely helping them regain momentum to attack and regain some territory,” the senior US Department of Defense official emphasized.