Russische raketwaarschuwing infographic
Graphic shows MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.
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OEKRAÏNE

Amerikaanse raket zou "rode lijn" overschrijden, zegt Moskou

By Duncan Mil

September 20, 2022 - Moscow has warned that if Washington supplies Kyiv with its long-range MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, it will have crossed a “red line” and become “a party to the conflict.”

Washington has openly supplied Ukraine with the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System fired from its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

GMLRS is a 227mm calibre surface-to-surface missile system with a range of up to 70km.

HIMARS can also fire longer-range ATACMS 610mm calibre tactical missiles, which can range up to 300km.

On August 9, explosions rocked the Russian airbase at Saky on the Crimean Peninsula. Saky is reportedly a training base for Russian navy pilots and home to SU-24 naval attack aircraft, which can carry cruise missiles. The airbase is some 230km from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Satellite images later showed as many as nine aircraft destroyed. Russia’s defence ministry denied it was a Ukrainian operation, claiming a weapons store had caught fire.

However, eleven days later, a military website, Defence View, showed a mobile phone video shot in Ukraine of a HIMARS carrying what appears to be a single large missile. The GMLRS rocket pack has six easily identifiable missiles.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued the missile warning on Thursday (September 15, 2022), adding that Russia “reserves the right to defend its territory.”

Sources
PUBLISHED: 20/09/2022; STORY: Graphic News
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