Ukraine military strikes Russia-held areas with more powerful weapons

KYIV • As Russian forces continue pounding civilian areas across a broad swathe of the front line, Ukraine's military has begun to punch back, striking bases and ammunition depots deep within occupied territory with the help of new, more powerful weapons provided by the West.

Early on Wednesday, a fireball lit up the sky over Luhansk, the capital of a Russian-held province in eastern Ukraine.

Russian media reported that Ukraine's military had hit an anti-aircraft battery.

That followed the destruction of six ammunition warehouses on Tuesday in Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine and the occupied Donetsk region in the east, according to Mr Serhii Bratchuk, the spokesman for Odesa's military administration.

This latest strategy by Ukrainian forces is still in its early days, and it is not yet clear whether it is having a significant impact on the battlefield, allowing them to disrupt Russia's own artillery attacks and offensive operations.

Some Ukrainian officials argue that the Russians are being forced to move supply hubs farther from the front, a claim that could not be verified.

"The Russian army has not stopped shelling, but it is likely preserving its existing supplies of ammunition because these provisions have been disrupted by the work of our new long-range weapons," said Mr Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region's military administration.

Crucial to this effort has been the arrival of new long-range weapons systems and artillery units, particularly the truck-mounted, multiple rocket launchers known as high mobility artillery rocket systems or Himars. US-supplied Himars are proving effective at targeting Russian military bases and ammunition supply depots far behind enemy lines.

NYTIMES