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When the full-scale Russian invasion began, Ukraine used old Soviet artillery mounts of 122 and 152 mm calibers. Around June 2022, the Allies began delivering 155mm artillery pieces. And the Armed Forces of Ukraine quickly adapted to them. But they sent high-explosive shells. Use cluster munitions more effectively and increase their production. Daniel Rice, a graduate of the US Military Academy, former adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, president of the American University in Kyiv, said this in the “On the Edge” program of the FREEDOM TV channel.
“We have never designed a combat operation in which the United States would defend itself or engage an enemy using high-explosive projectiles. We would use cluster munitions or improved conventional munitions that are dual-use, which is essentially where you take one artillery shell and turn it into 88 smaller shells,” Rice said.
He recalled that in the summer of 2022, high-explosive shells were supplied to Ukraine. However, huge stockpiles of land mines were never created either in NATO or in the world.
“We’re just beating around the bush saying we need to increase production of 155mm high-explosive shells. In fact, we should just start using cluster munitions and increase their production,” says Rice.
They, according to him, stopped producing them in 2015. And production needs to be resumed, since these are much more powerful projectiles.
“They are much better at defending Ukraine, much better at defending Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, much better at defending Taiwan and South Korea. We need to focus on which projectile is best and then produce them. Now we produce ammunition that is not as effective,” Rice emphasized.
Turkey began supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine in November 2022, he recalled. And he emphasized that cluster munitions were very important on the battlefield in Bakhmut, and this helped stop Russian attacks.
“But small quantities of cluster munitions were supplied. Ukraine had 3 million high-explosive shells and only a couple thousand cluster shells, but they were effectively used, helping to stop the “meat assaults” of the Russians,” the speaker emphasized.
According to him, in July 2023, the United States also approved the supply and cluster munitions began to appear en masse in Ukraine.
“Then in September 2023, the US President approved artillery cluster rockets for the Haymars, and they were used on October 17 to destroy two Russian air sites and about 24 combat helicopters. These were M-39 missiles fired from the Haymars launcher, but they each contained 950 cassettes. So these airfields were destroyed. It was the worst day in the history of the Russian Air Force since World War II. So, we supply the right weapons. And now we need to provide the required amount. And this will be done at the expense of the additional budget,” summed up the guest of the program.
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