uzia, the commander of the unit, shows the rockets on HIMARS vehicle in Eastern Ukraine on July 1, 2022.

uzia, the commander of the unit, shows the rockets on HIMARS vehicle in Eastern Ukraine on July 1, 2022. Photo by Anastasia Vlasova for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Ukraine Says It Needs at Least 100 HIMARS and Longer-Range Rockets

More mobile artillery rocket systems, drones, and longer-range rockets would be a “game changer” said top Ukrainian defense official.

The recent addition of new long-range fires capabilities to Ukraine’s arsenal has played a key role in defending against stalled Russian forces. But additional mobile rocket batteries and longer-range rockets would allow Ukraine to mount more effective counter attacks and reclaim territory stolen by Russia, Oleksii Reznikov, minister of defense of Ukraine, said Tuesday. 

Ukraine currently has eight High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, able to strike ranges of 85 kilometers or 52 miles, as well asf Howitzer cannons with a range of 18 miles. Another four HIMARS are on the way as of last week, according to the Defense Department, and the White House expects to announce another shipment later this week. Speaking at an Atlantic Council event Tuesday, Reznikov said the HIMARS had already helped Ukraine destroy approximately 30 Russian command stations, as well as ammunition storage areas. 

The mobile multiple rocket launchers have “significantly slowed down the Russian advance,” he said.  

But in order to effectively protect Ukraine’s massive border and wage counter attacks on Russians occupying Ukrainian territory, they would need orders of magnitude more. “We would need at least 100 [HMARS] I think. That would become a game-changer on the battlefield,” he said, adding that Ukraine also needs ​​ammunition retrieval and preparation systems for their 100 Howitzer cannons, as well as more UAVs to plot where to send long-range strikes. 

“We are using HIMARS systems precisely, like…surgery, because we will not use the Russian strategy of, how we call, meat grinder,” he said, referring to the imprecise Russian shelling that has led to hundreds of civilian casualties. 

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said HIMAR’s 85-kilometer range is “actually a little bit artificial,” and that it can be extended to at least 150 kilometers, which Reznikov said would be useful for hitting deeper into the Russian positions to attack resupply lines. But Reznikov has also said that he would not use the systems to attack Russian territory directly. The key to getting more launchers and rockets, he said, was demonstrating effective, responsible and “economical” use.  

Herbst said the Biden administration has been too timid and risk averse in its willingness to send Ukraine longer-range weapons. 

“Instead of giving you all the HIMARS you need and the longer ranges, they parceled it out in very small dosages,” he said. 

Reznikov is optimistic that the Pentagon might expand the range of the weapons it’s willing to send, as it has already done multiple times since the start of the invasion. 

“In November of 2021 I was told that we would never get [shoulder-fired FIM-92] Stingers because that simply wasn’t possible. It was forbidden… That story was repeated over and over again,” he said. “I believe that we will receive long-range weapons from our partners sooner or later.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.