The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has released a video of artillery training at the 199th Training Center of the Air Assault Forces. It was reported that allegedly M109A6 Palladin self-propelled howitzers were used.
At the same time, the authors of Defence24 write another interesting version in this story. This indicates that the video shows an M109A2 self-propelled howitzer from one of the Netherlands' undisclosed aid packages.
Read more: Ukrainian Forces Repel russian Assault in Kurakhove Sector with Artillery, Tanks, and Drones
To support their version, the authors of the publication present two arguments.
The first argument is that the camouflage color of the howitzer in the video closely matches that of the Netherlands' M109A2 howitzers, as seen in archival photos (the Netherlands armed forces do not currently have M109 howitzers in service).
The second argument is that the self-propelled howitzer used to train Ukrainian artillerymen for the airborne assault forces has a rather shabby appearance. This may indicate that it had been left outdoors for a long time and stored in poor conditions.
If the Polish authors' version is correct, it seems quite logical to use these M109A2 howitzers from the Netherlands for training purposes, freeing up better-condition equipment for direct combat against russians.
Regarding the non-publicity of the howitzer transfer, it is worth noting that information about the possibility of such a transfer was mentioned on social media in the summer of 2024. However, this information was not officially confirmed.
It is also worth briefly outlining the basic features of the M109A2 howitzer: the firing range is between 18 and 25 kilometers, with an ammunition capacity of 36 rounds and the presence of a large-caliber M2 Browning machine gun. Currently, the Armed Forces of Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Peru, Egypt, Taiwan, and Pakistan use this howitzer.
Earlier Defense Express reported that Ukraine’s forces had secretly used American Ghost-X UAVs with artificial intelligence since 2022.
Read more: Mini-Taurus: Ukraine to Receive 4,000 German Strike Drones with Artificial Intelligence
