Since the United States announced the first supplies of M777 towed howitzers going to Ukraine, multiple messages, and images, and videos appeared on the web showing the first results of the Western artillery destroying russian invaders on the Ukrainian frontlines.
The New York Times has recently released a report from one of such frontlines. The Ukrainian military provided journalists a tour of a gun line in eastern Ukraine which makes it the first Western media to see renowned M777s with their own eyes. Defense Expres provides some extracts from the article with our commentary.
Read more: American M777 Howitzers in Ukraine in All Details: From Projectiles to Fire Control System
Ever since their arrival on May 8, the "chunky machines of steel and titanium" have fired hundreds of rounds, the journalists cite Ukrainian commanders. About a dozen howitzers operating in two batteries had fired 1,876 rounds in two weeks.
"This weapon brings us closer to victory," Col. Roman Kachur, commander of the 55th Artillery Brigade, whose unit was the first unit to deploy the weapon, said in an interview. Mixing confidence with an implicit plea for more weapons, he added: "With every modern weapon, every precise weapon, we get closer to victory."
Ukrainian officers told the NYT that Western artillery supplied to Ukraine has several advantages over Soviet legacy systems mainly used by the country's army till these days. Among the most important is their compatibility with NATO caliber (155mm) shells. In perspective, this prevents Ukraine from running out of Soviet-standard (152mm) ammunition. The latter is now made mostly in Russia.
No less important is the capabilities gap. M777 is the most powerful and destructive of the many types now being provided by NATO countries, the reporters note. This howitzer fires 5 km further with its basic projectile than the most common artillery system used by the russian army in the Ukraine war, the Msta-S self-propelled howitzer.
In addition to the weapons provided by the United States, Ukraine has also received French "Caesar" truck-mounted howitzers. These are capable of quickly driving away after firing in a maneuver known as “shoot and scoot.
In the artillery duels, soldiers value not just range but the ability to quickly hide and move guns and supporting vehicles, say Ukrainian artillerymen. In those "cat-and-mouse" duels, that have defined the war in recent weeks, secrecy is paramount. That's why the ability to quickly deploy, shoot and flee is important. Especially on the open plains of the eastern part of Ukraine.
In this context, the American M777 will likely have the greatest effect for the quantity of guns provided. So far, at least 90 of them have been delivered to Ukraine, with 18 more coming within the latest US military aid package. Slovakia has also pledged howitzers for Ukraine.
Military analysts told the NYT that "much depends on numbers" in the fight for Donbas.
"Artillery is very much the business of quantity," Michael Kofman, the director of Russian studies at C.N.A., a research institute in Arlington, Va., said in a telephone interview. "The Russians are one of the largest artillery armies you can face."
That's why Ukrainian President Zelensky called out to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday to meet 100% of Ukraine's military needs, both in quantity and quality:
"Ukraine needs all the weapons we ask for, not just the ones we are given," he said. In his nationwide address later that evening Head of State stated, the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine – MLRS, tanks, anti-ship and other weapons – is "the best investment in maintaining stability in the world and preventing many severe crises that Russia is still planning or has already provoked."
Besides the supplies, Ukraine needs also training for the troops to handle Western artillery, noted Mykhailo Zhirokhov, the author of a book on artillery in Ukraine’s war with Russian-backed separatists, "Gods of Hybrid War.’" He said training soldiers for all the 90 or more M777 howitzers delivered to Ukraine could take another several weeks. As Defense Express reported, the US has trained more than 300 soldiers already, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.
As for the computer-controlled, self-propelled Caesar guns from France, those will come in handy, too, but learning to use them takes months, according to Mykhailo Zhirokhov. "Even the French think they are too complicated," he said.
Read more: Day 91st of War Between Ukraine and Russian Federation (Live Updates)
