played a role in army repulsion at Kharkiv

It is the Pentagon’s first confirmation that the howitzers played a significant role in Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive around Kharkiv. The Russians, who have been besieging and shelling the city for months, have been pushed back to about 3 kilometers from the Russian border in a short time. The howitzers also help a lot in the Donbas.

The remarkable advance of the Ukrainian army at Kharkiv in the last week in particular caused a lot of surprise internationally. The fact that the Russian army suddenly lost so much ground at the second city of the country was even a reason for NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday to declare that Moscow must be militarily careful. “Ukraine stands firm,” Stoltenberg said at a NATO meeting. “Ukraine can win this war.”

According to the Pentagon, the nearly 100 state-of-the-art howitzers, which can bombard the Russians from up to 50 kilometers away, allow Ukraine to counterattack. At Kharkiv, the Ukrainian army for a long time limited itself to defending the city. In recent times in the Donbas too, towns and villages have been recaptured from the Russians in counter-offensives. Russia’s advance in the eastern region has been slow for weeks.

‘Very effective’

“They are pushing the Russians back,” a senior Pentagon official said during a briefing on advancing Ukrainian troops Monday. ‘The howitzers have an influence, especially at Kharkiv. These weapons systems that they get, not only from the US but also from other countries, definitely allow them to regain some momentum and reclaim territory.”

The US, which is closely monitoring the battle with satellites, among other things, was also informed on Sunday by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov about the deployment of mainly American howitzers. In a telephone conversation with his American colleague Lloyd Austin, Reznikov said the heavy guns were “very effective” and “making a difference”, including in the Donbas.

According to the Americans, a heavy artillery battle is now going on in the Donbas on a daily basis. This includes 74 of the 90 M777 howitzers that the Americans have delivered to Ukraine. The US would not say how many of these howitzers, which are among the heaviest guns in the US military, were deployed at Kharkiv and in the battle in the Donbas.

“Both sides suffer losses,” said the senior official, who cannot be named. “It’s a real firefight in the Donbas, with artillery fire being exchanged every day.”

Deadly precision grenade

The US is also supplying the Ukrainian army with a huge number of artillery shells, 209 thousand, to continue firing at the Russians. The Americans would not officially confirm whether they also sent the highly effective Excalibur grenade to the battlefield. But because Canada, which has supplied four M777s, is also sending this precision grenade, it is quite possible that the US will also provide Ukraine with the Excalibur.

This ‘smart’ precision grenade, in contrast to ordinary howitzer grenades, is guided to its target with GPS and is therefore very accurate. The US and Canada used the Excalibur, which is one meter long and weighs 48 kilos, in Afghanistan, among other places, to fire on Taliban fighters. The Netherlands and Germany also supply Kyiv heavy howitzers, the German-made Armored Howitzer 2000. Both countries will send a total of 12 howitzers, but it is unclear when they will arrive in Ukraine.

In recent weeks, the US has trained more than 400 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany, among other places, to deal with the M777. They were then transferred to Ukraine as soon as possible to be used against the Russian army. On behalf of the Netherlands, the German army provides training for Ukrainian soldiers to operate the Armored Howitzer 2000.