Phillips O’Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews, said the Himar may have taken out up to 100 “high value targets”.
“This must hurt the Russians,” he said.
Its success has fueled calls for more Western arms to be sent to Ukraine in the hope that they will force Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal.
The Himars are one of the most sophisticated artillery systems in the world and can land a shell on the front door of a house 60 miles away. They can also fire at ships anchored offshore or sailing relatively slowly.
Ukraine’s military has been hitting Russian warships with Himars and other Western missile systems, such as the Harpoon.
One of his key victories was forcing the Russian navy to withdraw from Snake Island in early July, key to controlling shipping lanes into and out of Ukraine. This withdrawal and the sinking of Russia’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, in April made it impossible for the Kremlin to maintain the blockade of Odesa.
Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, described Russia’s lifting of the blockade of Ukrainian ports as a “significant about-face.” He also said that Russian allies in Africa and Asia, facing possible famines, also pressed the Kremlin to allow grain exports from Ukraine.
But it is the weapons of the West that have really changed the momentum of the war. And there’s more to come.
The United States has hinted that it may give Ukraine F-16 fighter jets and that there are more Himar, top-tier drones and other weapons aimed at the Ukrainian military. Missiles, artillery and other equipment are being sent to Ukraine from Western Europe, including Britain, which has been training Ukrainian infantry with its armored vehicles.
“Our soldiers are fighting skillfully with the help of Himars,” said Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik, who has been pushing for more weapons from the West. “And we will speak to the invaders in the language of heavy weapons.”