Fire and hide: Ukraine's artillery pinned down by Russian drones
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[May 07, 2024]
By Dan Peleschuk
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) - Rumbling out of its forest hideout,
the hulking German-supplied howitzer has only a few minutes to fire
before slipping back under cover to evade Russian surveillance in the
skies above.
Across the hills and valleys of the east, Ukrainian artillery units play
a cat-and-mouse game with Russian drones hunting high-value artillery
weapons such as this self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000.
Moscow's troops have stepped up ground attacks along the 1,000-km
(621-mile) front in the south and east of Ukraine, threatening some of
the industrialized Donetsk region's last big cities held by Kyiv more
than two years after Russia's full-scale invasion.
Counterbattery efforts are crucial to suppressing enemy fire that rains
on Ukrainian lines and artillery units, and paves the way for Russian
advances.
Crews including the one Reuters recently visited, part of the 43rd
Artillery Brigade, say they face increasing harassment from enemy drones
that have become a staple of Russia's arsenal.
"There were (attacks) before, but not the same amount," said battery
commander "Lyova", 27, using his call sign. "Now it's really scary."
Lyova, who is from western Ukraine, said his unit had been directly hit
four times by Russian high-tech Lancet attack drones. Crew members
remained largely unharmed thanks to the Panzerhaubitze's amour.
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Russian reconnaissance drones such as the Orlan or the more advanced
Supercam are a particular nuisance, said senior battery officer Andriy
Stavnychyi.
"Sometimes it happens that there's lots of work for the day, but we
can't move because something is always flying above," Stavnychyi, 31,
told Reuters during a visit to the unit's underground command post.
Enemy surveillance drones often pose a greater risk to Ukrainian
artillery units than Russian counterbattery radar, according to Rob Lee,
a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).
The Panzerhaubitze rotates among multiple hiding spots around the unit's
position, which the Ukrainian military requested not be disclosed. They
are nestled deep in tree cover and feature hand-built wooden frames that
shroud the vehicle.
PRIME TARGETS
Stavnychyi echoed other Ukrainian troops and senior officials who have
called for more electronic warfare systems to jam Russian drones.
Western-supplied artillery such as the Panzerhaubitze is a priority
target for Moscow, which has pledged to focus its strikes on such
weapons.
Battery commander Lyova said Russian forces have at times piled pressure
on their unit, including through the laser-guided Krasnopol artillery
system that eventually struck one of the hideouts. It was not critically
damaged.
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![](../images/050724PIX/news_j21.jpg)
Ihor, Ukrainian serviceman of the 43rd Separate Artillery
Brigade, walks next to a Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer
after firing toward Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine,
in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/07/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_050624.jpg)
"Before that, they fired around 50 (standard) shells throughout a
day and a half, but couldn't hit it," he said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month Moscow would
intensify strikes on Ukrainian storage bases that house
Western-supplied weapons.
Lee, the FPRI expert, said weakened Ukrainian counterbattery
capabilities meant Russian forces "can be more aggressive about how
they employ artillery."
"They can move it closer, they don't have to necessarily change
positions that often," he said.
Like other Ukrainian artillery units, the 43rd Brigade battery faces
a critical shell shortage that limits the Panzerhaubitze's
potential.
Ukrainian troops across the sprawling front are anxiously awaiting
shipments from a long-delayed $61-billion U.S. military aid package.
The Panzerhaubitze gunners said they lacked the proprietary 155mm
shells designed to maximize its efficiency and range of around 40
km.
Longer-range ammunition would allow them to target analogous Russian
self-propelled guns far behind the front line, and keep them further
back to protect from Russian counterbattery fire.
Although well-supplied during a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive
last year, Lyova's unit now fires far fewer shells per day - only
between eight and 15, he estimated.
Repairing the vehicle is also a challenge, with availability of
spare parts limited and a navigation system that frequently
malfunctions but is difficult to fix on the battlefield.
Stavnychyi, the senior officer, said some parts could be swapped
among the Italian and Dutch artillery pieces also under his command.
"But even if there were parts and shells, you'd have the problem of
enemy 'birds'," he said, referring to drones.
"So everything needs to work together in a system: electronic
warfare and surveillance, (and) artillery. Then our hit percentage
would be much higher."
(Editing by Mike Collett-White and Timothy Heritage)
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