Gripping footage shows Ukrainian drone strike destroying lots of Russian artillery

The Ukrainian Armed Forces Strategic Command has published video footage of drone operators from the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade destroying nine Russian artillery guns and one mortar system on its Telegram channel. 

The post highlighted the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s unmanned systems unit Rarog, which managed to use first-person view drones to destroy several artillery guns that were not hidden very well according to StratCom. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

Militarnyi reported on the combat footage and noted the drone operators of Rarog were able to keep their signals alive and disable several artillery guns despite Russian forces using electronic warfare systems to protect their weapons. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

The 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade is currently defending a portion of the frontlines in the Donetsk region. The brigade was previously ordered to Chasiv Yar in June to help bolster its defenses according to The Kyiv Independent. 

In the video published by StratCom, several different scenes have been edited together to create a larger video of the destruction drone operators inflicted on Russian soldiers. It is unclear if the footage is from one operation or several. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

It does appear that some of the artillery systems may have been located in the same small, destroyed urban area. However, neither the StratCom Telegram post nor the report by Militaryni elaborated on the situations unfolding in the video. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

Several D-20 152mm towed field howitzers were targeted in the video, a fact which is noted in the footage and by Militarnyi. Eight of the artillery units attacked were D-20 howitzers, which was an artillery gun developed immediately after World War II. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

Defense Express reported the D-20 has a maximum range of 17.4 kilometers or roughly 10.8 miles and can fire upwards of five to six shells a minute. The weapon itself isn’t too impressive by modern standards but can be quite useful. 

Photo Credit: By George Chernilevsky, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

According to Army Recognition, the addition of drones on the battlefield has increased the capabilities of older artillery systems like the D-20 and has improved their “precision and overall effectiveness in modern warfare.”

Rarog drone operators also hit a Msta-B 152 mm towed howitzer, which has a range of 24 kilometers or roughly 15 miles and is often employed by the Russian forces for counter-battery fire according to Militarnyi. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

In addition to the artillery guns targeted in the video, it also shows an attack on one 2B9 ‘Vasylok’ 82mm automatic mortar, which has a maximum range of 4,270 meters (14,000 feet) and fires a 3.1 kilogram (6.8 pound) fragmentation mine.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By ShinePhantom, CC BY-SA 3.0

The 2B9 Vasylok can fire single shots automatically and up to one hundred and seventy rounds per minute, making it a rather dangerous weapon in short-range fighting. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

“It is worth noting that all Russian artillery systems are concealed with camouflage nets,” Militarnyi explained. “Some of the targets in the video might have been decoys intended to mislead Ukrainian drone operators.”

Photo Credit: Telegram @AFUStratCom

“Ukraine is also actively using mock-ups on the battlefield,” the Ukrainian military news website added. “In March, it became known that Transcarpathian volunteers had developed a model of a D-20 152mm towed howitzer.”

The 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s Rarog unit has published several videos of their battlefield feats, including a video in June that saw the battalion’s drone operators destroy a Russian 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar.

Photo Credit: Facebook @РАРОГ

In July 2023, Rarog drone pilots damaged a T-90 tank, one of the best that the Kremlin currently fields in Ukraine, with two drones. Footage from that encounter was posted on X by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense highlighting the feat. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

"Operators of the "Rarog" strike drone company of the 24th Mechanized Brigade damaged the newest Russian tank T-90, and prevented its evacuation with another hit," the defense ministry wrote in the caption of the video. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

"Two drones worth several thousand dollars destroyed a tank worth three million dollars. This is what modern warfare looks like,” the defense ministry added.

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