The US government secretly modified the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) units it sent to the Kiev regime to prevent Ukrainian militants from firing missiles into Russia, it’s being reported.
The HIMARS rocket systems has become one of the most frequently used long-range weapons systems in Kiev’s arsenal, with at least three dozen of the units having reportedly been transferred to nationalists so far.
When US President Joe Biden announced the Pentagon would be sending HIMARS units to the Ukrainian regime at the end of May, he insisted the systems would only be used for defensive purposes, and that the administration was “not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia.”
At the time, Russian officials expressed doubt at the Americans’ claim, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s promise that US-made weapons wouldn’t be used to strike Russian territory.
Strikes by the Ukrainian-controlled HIMARS units have become commonplace in the four regions which voted to realign with the Russian Federation in late September in referendums western regimes universally refused to recognize.
The Zelensky regime has carried out dozens of missile attacks in those areas using the system in recent months. Among other targets, strikes have hit civilians in downtown Donetsk, a priest with the Russian Orthodox Church, the judo coach of a Russian Olympic gold medalist, and journalists covering the developments from the ground.
In October, Lockheed Martin — the US-based weapons behemoth responsible for manufacturing HIMARS — announced they were ramping up production of the rocket launchers from 60 to 96 units per year.
Earlier this week, an unnamed Russian military commander informed RIA Novosti that Moscow-aligned forces recently received a “new program update” for their air defense systems which significantly improves their abilities to track and eliminate enemy HIMARS rockets.
“Now we have no problems in detecting, tracking, and destroying them,” the anonymous officer reportedly said, noting that the overhaul had already allowed Russian soldiers to demilitarize 10 HIMARS systems, including four in the past month.
The US has supplied Kiev with 20 HIMARS since June; however, military aid to Ukraine has also included the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System which can be loaded with twice as many missiles and carry the same suite of munitions as the HIMARS.