Images are mounting on Ukrainian social media showing a US-made rocket launcher being used against Russian targets.
In early June, the US Department of Defense announced that it would send four HIMAR systems to Ukraine to help the country defend against attacks.
First, Ukrainian soldiers would be trained, which would take about three weeks.
In recent days, there have been a number of social media posts from Ukrainian military sources showing HIMARS deployed in the country, reportedly targeting forces Russia.
One shows vehicles allegedly driving on a road in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, and then the system used, which fired a volley of rockets into a dodgy night, was extinguished, according to officials from the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The tweet read in both English and Ukrainian: “Combat work by HIMARS. Direction Zaporizhzhia. Beautiful, fast, accurate. @DeptofDefense @thejointstaff”.
Another, entirely in Ukrainian, shows the vehicle operating at night, lighting up the sky as the missiles are fired, while another, from a different source, shows it being fitted with a “cartridge” of another six missiles and its launch tubes being reloaded.
A tweet by an open-source enthusiast calling himself The Cube, who says he analyzed the scene from which some of the rockets were launched, claims they were aimed at Russian positions around Melitopol Airport.
The HIMARS are believed to have arrived near the front lines in recent days, as Ukrainian forces said on June 22 they were still waiting for the US missile launch system to arrive.
It comes as other social media images released by Ukrainian defense sources increasingly show the use of other Western weapons such as the French 155mm CAESAR self-propelled artillery.
Analysts say that while this could be the start of the arrival of a raft of Western weapons that Ukraine has been promised for several months and have the potential to turn the tide of the war, more will be needed before it makes a difference.
Read more: What will happen in Donbass after Luhansk fell to Russia?
Defense Intelligence analyst Forbes McKenzie told Sky News: “The artillery pieces that are deployed now: The CAESAR system, a 155mm artillery piece from the French, has been deployed… the HIMAR system from the US. .. they need a combat mass of 54 to have any real effect.
“They can fire six missiles at once, be on the ground in 16 seconds, they can shoot, they can shoot, they can survive. They are the kind of ammunition that the Ukrainians will need to deter and defeat the Russians in the coming months.
“This was deployed over the weekend. On July 2, an airport in the Melitopol region had a lot of equipment from the Russians. We know that this weapon system was used against these planes on July 3rd.
The HIMAR system prepares the shot. Image: General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
“It’s being deployed slowly, but it will take months to get it working properly.”
The US Department of Defense, which has promised to send four more HIMARS in the next few weeks, says the missiles delivered to Ukraine have a range of 40 miles.
However, in the past it is said to have been effective up to a maximum range of 300 km (187 miles).
Colin Kahl, US Undersecretary for Defense Policy, said at a Pentagon briefing on June 1, “These are extended-range, precision-guided systems for high-value targets that allow them to deflect some of the frontline pressure from Ukrainian forces. “
There have been other unconfirmed claims that the HIMARS has been deployed against a Russian base in the Izyum area in recent days.
HIMARS is not the only missile launch system being sent to Ukraine. A system called the M270, developed by a number of NATO countries including Britain, is being supplied by British forces and Norway.
It is assumed that this will still happen.