Ukrainian operators of the artillery rocket systems, especially the ones handling the rare Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile systems (SRBM), rarely get much attention from the media. Their missions are important but carried out in complete secrecy. However, they do appear in the media occasionally, like in the fresh video report from Donbass.Realities project from RFE/RL.
The journalists obtained valuable footage of Tochka-U missile launches, much of which has never been published before, and heard insights into the routine of the operators' fire missions and typical targets.
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To begin with, the intensity of these crews' engagement was about several hundred missile launches since the beginning of the russian full-scale invasion in February 2022. In particular, an officer with the call sign "July" said, only his team had executed about 300 combat launches.
Practice showed that there could be up to four Tochka-U missiles firing as a group at the same time but each of the teams could be aiming at a different target. The execution of a ballistic missile strike was occasionally combined with an attack of other weapons involving unguided rocket artillery systems, gunfire, and aviation for the saturation effect, in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy air defense.
Usually, the crews of Tochka-U SRBMs don't know exactly what kind of targets they are aiming at, they only receive coordinates for laying the missiles toward the target location. Though they learn about the results from operational reports, one of the hints is whenever there's a message about a major kill count happened at one place. That's how they figure out it's their accomplishment, though it's not always they need to do all this.
Speaking of typical targets for a Tochka-U missile, Ukrainians have been wiping out not only stationary objects, such as command centers and airfields, but also moving ones, for example, columns of russian military vehicles.
These columns were especially numerous in the first months of the russian invasion, which accounted for the nature of warfare back then. Notably, Ukrainian missile launchers had to change their position often, the movements and reloadings of missiles took place at night to keep the valuable equipment out of enemy sight.
Here's one more interesting detail mentioned by a Tochka-U operator: the closest distance to the frontline, where his team used to deploy and launch a missile was only 13 kilometers to the russian positions; it was at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Now, however, Tochka-U crews never risk coming so close to the frontline because of the constant threat of being seen or attacked by drones.
The reporters note that some of the Tochka-U personnel are currently training to switch to the American M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — HIMARS. On a note from Defense Express, this detail can be interpreted as indirect evidence of the dwindling ammunition stockpile for the Soviet-made Tochka-U systems.
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