Ukrainian HIMARS attack kills Russian Brigade Deputy Commander

(CLO) Ukraine's attack with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) on the Kursk region killed a senior Russian military commander.

According to a report from the Militarnyi news site, the attack claimed the life of Salim Pashtov, deputy commander of the Russian 810th Naval Brigade. Pashtov was at the command post in the city of Lgov, in the Kursk region, about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

“A terrible tragedy has struck. My dear brother Salim Mukharbetovich has passed away. Farewell, my dear brother,” Mr Pashtov’s sister wrote on social media.

HIMARS rocket artillery system. Illustration: AI

According to the Telegram channel War_home, in addition to Mr. Pashtov, many other soldiers were also present in the building at the time of the attack and were all killed.

Russian news channel Mash added that three women were also killed in the attack in Lgov, which reportedly used a US-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery system.

The 810th Naval Brigade, based in Sevastopol, Crimea (annexed by Russia), has suffered heavy losses since the conflict began. The shortage of troops in Kursk has also forced Russia to mobilize additional forces to repel Ukrainian attacks.

In September 2022, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that 85% of the brigade had been wiped out on the Kherson front due to the successful actions of the Ukrainian defense forces. Many of the remaining soldiers refused to continue fighting.

In early December 2024, videos on social media showed many people claiming to be soldiers of the 810th Brigade being taken prisoner by Ukraine.

According to the Strategic Communications Center of Ukraine (StratCom), the 810th Brigade’s headquarters is located in an “abandoned civilian building” in Lgov. The attack is part of an overall strategy to undermine Russia’s military coordination capabilities.

Kursk, a region bordering Ukraine, has long been the target of Kiev’s attacks, which have targeted Russian military facilities and supported Ukrainian forces that have been present in the area since an offensive in August.

Last week, Ukraine used the HIMARS system in an attack on the town of Rylsk, west of Kursk. The attack killed six people and left 10 hospitalized, according to Kursk’s acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein.

“Ukrainian armed forces attacked the roofs of a sugar factory, a thermal power plant, a residential building and a gas pipeline, causing several fires. There is also a camp for Ukrainian prisoners of war in the area, which may have been the target of the attack,” the Russian news channel Mash said on its Telegram channel.

The conflict in the Kursk region has been going on for four months since the surprise Ukrainian offensive. Although Russian counterattacks have succeeded in slowing the Ukrainian army’s advance and recapturing some initial areas, Moscow has not been able to push Kiev back completely to the border.

Cao Phong (according to Newsweek, Dailymail, Telegraph)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/himars-cua-ukraine-tan-cong-khien-pho-chi-huy-lu-doan-hai-quan-nga-thiet-mang-post327727.html