Ukrainian service members firing a M777 howitzer on an unspecified front in the Donbass region. Source: the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have lost two more U.S.-made M777 155 mm towed howitzers to Russian artillery fire.
On October 5, Russian sources released a video showing an artillery strike that destroyed a Ukrainian M777 howitzer along with its ammunition. The howitzer was deployed near the front in Donetsk.
Later on October 7, another video documenting the destruction of a second Ukrainian M777 howitzer along with its ammunition near Kherson front was released. The howitzer was also destroyed as a result of an artillery strike.
The M777 howitzer has a maximum rate of fire of seven rounds per minute with a range of up to 40 kilometers when firing Excalibur precision-guided rounds. The United States, Canada and Australia have supplied the AFU with more than 100 howitzers of this type along with hundreds of thousands of 155 mm rounds since April.
Many of the AFU’s new M777 howitzers have been already destroyed or damaged by the Russian military. At least one damaged howitzer of this type was also captured.
Kiev forces have received massive support from their Western allies, including hundreds of artillery pieces, since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine late in February. Despite of this, they are still struggling to overcome the fire power of the Russian artillery.
