Ukrainian servicemen fire a RAK-SA-12 small multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near the front line town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 10, 2023.
Buoyed after the capture last week of the key village of Klishchiivka, Ukrainian troops have lauded the 155 millimetre howitzers as key equipment being provided by the United States and its NATO allies.
Unit commander Oleksandr said Ukraine's armed forces "very much rely" on heavy artillery, including the Polish-made Krab gun and the U.S.-made M109 self-propelled howitzer.
Oleksandr, 30, described Klishchiivka - a village on the heights south of the devastated town of Bakhmut - as "one of the places they (the Russians) were clinging to."
The gains have been among the most significant in Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began in June and has struggled to break through entrenched Russian lines.
Persons:
Sofiia, Oleksandr, Ukraine's, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Anna Voitenko, Ronald Popeski, Max Hunder, Mike Harrison
Organizations:
REUTERS, West, Reuters, NATO, Thomson
Locations:
Bakhmut, Ukraine, Donetsk region, BAKHMUT, Russia, Klishchiivka, United States, U.S, Klischiivka, West