The use of heavy artillery has long been central to Russian military doctrine—Josef Stalin called it “the god of war”
, which is capable of indirect fire over great distances. This has long been central to Russian military doctrine—Josef Stalin called it “the god of war”. In Ukraine Russia’s artillery has inflicted huge damage; images of Mariupol and other cities show neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. In doing so, however, they draw back Ukrainian artillery fire , leading to cat-and-mouse artillery duels. Neutralising Russian artillery is vital if Ukraine is to halt Russia’s advance.
To counter an artillery attack, the other side must know where it came from. Artillery batteries may take several minutes to hit a target, which risks making them sitting ducks in this time, partly because shells can take up to 40 seconds to arrive, and the aim needs to be adjusted if the first rounds miss.
Where counter-battery fire is likely, artillery adopts a “shoot-and-scoot” tactic, firing at a target before rapidly moving on. This is only possible with self-propelled weapons such as the Russian 2S19 Msta, a 152mm gun that moves on its own tracks. Towed guns, such as the M777 155mm howitzers recently supplied to Ukraine by America, or Russia’s 152mm 2A65 Msta-B, take time to hitch and move after firing.
The most important factor in an artillery battle is range. The side which fires farthest can put itself out of enemy reach. The American M777 howitzer’s Excalibur GPS-guided shells, for example, have a range of more than 40km, compared with 25km for the Russian 152mm 2A65 Msta-B. A desire for longer range is behind Ukrainian requests for American-made mobile MLRS launchers.
advanced MLRS weapons to Ukraine, though only with medium-range missiles. Britain and Germany are reportedly planning to send similar weapons too. If Ukraine is to stand up to Russia’s artillery barrages, it will need plenty more.
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