Ukraine needs military assistance all the time. It seems that this condition will persist for many years to come. However, most European countries, including Germany and France, refused to officially supply weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But the United States openly donates military equipment to the country. Moreover, according to unofficial information, in the summer of 2014, several American towed howitzers M777 entered service with the artillery units of the Ukrainian army. The transport C17 brought them with a stock of 155-mm guided Excaliburs from Oklahoma. The weapon is distinguished by high accuracy: the deviation of the corrected projectile from the target does not exceed 2 meters, as well as a quick transfer to a combat position. However, there is no documentary evidence of the presence of the M777 on the battlefields of Donbass so far.
M777, which is supposed to be present in the arsenal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Back in October 2014, after returning from Milan, President Poroshenko said in the Verkhovna Rada: “We have agreed to use modern anti-battery stations. They will be installed at 15-17 points, and as soon as the first shot is fired, the operator will be able to determine the azimuth, range, fix the point from which the fire is being fired. No sooner said than done. In November, the United States transferred three LCMR (Lightweight Counter-Mortar Radar) mobile radars to Ukraine. At that time, Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren said that this was only the first swallow in the delivery of non-lethal weapons to Ukraine. In addition, the suppliers immediately mentioned that they disclaim all responsibility regarding the consequences of the use of such weapons.
LCMR (Lightweight Counter-Mortar Radar) mobile radars
Poroshenko and the American "wunderwaffe"
The moment of acceptance of counter-battery weapons by Ukraine
Deliveries continued in 2015, and in the summer of 2016, an additional 14 AN / TPQ-36 counter-battery systems and 10 more modern AN / TPQ-49 systems were solemnly greeted at the Kiev Boryspil airport. Such radars allow fixing up to 20 targets in one minute from all angles. Typically, the AN / TPQ-36 is mounted on an M116 single axle trailer and in an auto container on an M1097 Humvee. The trailer has an antenna and a transmitter with control systems, as well as a 10 kW generator. The antenna itself is based on a phased array with 64 elements. The AN / UIK-15 computer automatically calculates the coordinates of the artillery batteries based on the received radar intercept data. In the back of the Humvee there are two operators, control terminals, communication and navigation equipment. An 81-mm mortar radar can track at a distance of up to 8 km, and a 120-mm mortar up to 10 km. The Ukrainian Armed Forces actively used American gifts in hostilities and even lost them - in Debaltseve at least one was captured, and the other was destroyed in Horlivka.
VZ-77 "Dana", delivered to Ukraine by Polish comrades
Poland also did not stay away from the global trend of aid to Ukraine, only now it decided to supply lethal weapons. On July 16, 2014, in the port of Odessa, the Poles, in strict secrecy, unloaded 12 Czech VZ-77 Dana self-propelled wheeled howitzers. The technique, although the first freshness, however, is accepted in Ukraine with understanding and gratitude.
The most interesting thing is that Russia was among the suppliers of artillery weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine! In the spring and summer of 2014, 120 pieces of rocket and artillery weapons were returned from the territory of the Republic of Crimea. This is, in addition to 32 ships, 1341 vehicles and 121 armored vehicles. After July 5, these returns stopped - the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to iron the residential areas of Donbass with heavy weapons.
The chassis of the "Tochka-U" complex from the 19th separate missile brigade
Over time, the Ukrainian artillerymen realized that they needed a genuine "wunderwaffe" to be successful. The Tochka-U missile systems, which were released in the Soviet Union, were in service, allowing some problems on the battlefield to be solved with one blow. The peculiarity of using such a powerful weapon is the dependence on accurate intelligence, which is laid down in the flight map. It is not hard to guess that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as of 2014, were unable to conduct a full-fledged reconnaissance of targets for tactical missiles. Therefore, they were often used "at random", like powerful MLRS. A separate 19th missile brigade from the city of Khmelnitsky with 12 launchers TRK (tactical missile system) 9K79-1 "Tochka-U" worked with similar equipment during the conflict. The total number of missiles in the inventory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at that time could reach 500 pieces. Most likely, high-explosive fragmentation missiles 9N123F were used in the Donbas as part of 9M79F or 9M79-1F missiles. The warhead of such ammunition has a mass of 482 kg, and the total mass of the explosive exceeds 162 kg. During the explosion, the rocket creates a field of damaging elements, consisting of 14, 5 thousand fragments. However, the artillery missilemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not shy away from using cluster warheads, consisting of 50 fragmentation warheads (submunitions) 9N24. In this case, the area of destruction of manpower and light equipment increases to 7 hectares.
Warhead of the Tochka-U tactical missile with submunitions
Rocket launch "Tochka - U" from a position near Kramatorsk, 2014
The beginning of the use of "Tochka-U" on the infrastructure of Donbass and the positions of the militia dates back to July 29, 2014. The militia positions near Saur-Mogila were the first to be hit by numerous rockets - the launches were carried out from Kramatorsk. Further, the Vergunka station, the settlements of Makeevka, Rovenki, Snezhnoe, Ilovaisk, Beloyarovka, Amvrosievka, Khartsyzsk, Alchevsk, Donetsk, Logvinovo and the area of the 238th height were added to the list of targets. The low accuracy of hitting some missiles is surprising - many photographs record the consequences of strikes in an open field with no targets visible near. Usually, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck only with a pair of missiles at alleged targets deep in the enemy's defenses. It is worth remembering in this regard that in the Soviet Army group strikes with four missiles at once entered into practice, thanks to which at least one Tochka-U missile was guaranteed to hit a circle with a radius of 50 meters.
Rocket 9M79-1 with serial number Ш905922 produced in 1990, used in the area of the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant in February 2015.
Numerous evidence of the use of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of tactical missiles "Tochka-U" in the Donbas
Consequences of a hit by Tochka-U submunitions on the territory of Donbass [/center]
One of the first infrastructure facilities hit by tactical missiles was the Donetsk state-owned chemical products plant. I must say that the Ukrainians got into it very successfully - as a result, about 12 tons of hexogen detonated. It was not by chance that the plant found itself under fire - it produced explosives for a wide range of ammunition. Further, the rockets fell in Donetsk itself and near the Oktyabrskaya mine, leading to numerous civilian casualties.
The moment of the explosion of RDX reserves at the Donetsk chemical products plant after the hit "Tochka-U"
The fighters of the 19th separate missile brigade tried to get into the ammonia storage facilities located in Donetsk, Lugansk and Horlivka. The task was simple - to deprive the region of raw materials for the production of explosives and to poison a considerable number of residents with toxic gas. This time "Tochki-U" did not reach chemically hazardous objects. It is worth remembering that on the territory of Donetsk there is a special plant "Radon", which is engaged in the processing and storage of a wide range of radioactive waste, except for spent fuel from nuclear power plants. What is now at this facility and what consequences for the region and adjacent states may be after the "Tochka-U" hits it, we can only guess.
