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| Russian Artillery Strike Destroys French CAESAR Howitzer in Ukraine |
Kiev - A footage shared online this week shows how Russian artillery damaged a French-assisted CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer somewhere in Eastern Ukraine. The footage, recorded by a Russian drone, shows the self-propelled howitzer being hit by Russian MLRS fire.
It is not known how much damage the attack caused, given the height the video was shot at. However, the video shows a massive explosion and shows the howitzers on fire as soldiers scatter.
Ukraine Weapons Tracker, a popular English-language war tracker account, shared the video on Twitter and noted that munitions on the ground appeared to have been destroyed by the attack. “Russian Artillery/MRLS fire damaged the French CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer during combat, possibly in the East. The ammunition is destroyed," the post read as quoted from 19fortyfive.
#Ukraine: Russian Artillery/MRLS fire damaged a French CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer during fighting, presumably in the East. The ammo was destroyed. pic.twitter.com/JMluFGJ1AC
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) August 11, 2022
Ukraine first used French-supplied CAESAR self-propelled howitzers against Russian targets in February. Even with this illustrious military apparatus, however, Russia had the upper hand in the early days of the conflict.
However, over time, the number of CAESAR howitzers supplied by France increased. By April, Ukrainian forces had become accustomed to using military vehicles as part of their overall military strategy, and troops on the battlefield praised military vehicles for their ability to fire an average of five rounds in less than a minute and at a range of 13 miles.
“The system is especially maneuverable and highly mobile. In modern warfare, this is an important factor. Our old system is stationary, so to speak. It is truck-mounted artillery for deployment in the field,” said a Ukrainian commander operating the vehicle in July.
The same commander said that training troops to use French vehicles at first proved challenging, but the troops quickly remembered everything and incorporated vehicles into their strategy.
In July, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told a Senate commission that an additional six French-made CAESAR artillery guns promised to Ukraine in June were on their way. This follows the donation of 12 howitzers that had previously been delivered to Ukraine.