Ukrainian Troops Fire HIMARS Missile at LPR City - LPR Mission to JCCC

LUGANSK, July 23 (Sputnik) - Ukrainian forces have targeted the city of Stakhanov in the Lugansk region using the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), the Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination on the ceasefire regime (JCCC) said.

"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine: 22:56 [19:56 GMT on Friday] at Stakhanov, with the use of MLRS [Multiple Launch Rocket System] HIMARS (one missile)," the LPR mission said in a statement on Telegram.

A Russian security source told Sputnik on Thursday that there are two HIMARS, supplied to Ukraine by the United States, currently deployed near the Kherson Region, while the rest are deployed in the Donbass area. The source said that, according to information received from the Ukrainian military, out-of-staff NATO personnel are in charge of the use of HIMARS systems in Ukraine.

The Pentagon has pledged to provide Kiev with more than 20 HIMARS, 12 of which have already been transferred. According to a government procurement website, the US military is considering acquiring up to 480 HIMARS systems.

According to Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl, the United States has obtained the promise of the Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, not to use HIMARS against Russian territory. According to the Russian defense ministry, at least two HIMARS systems have been destroyed to date.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this month that the United States had provided intelligence to Ukraine for shelling Donbas cities using HIMARS missiles. According to Zakharova, with the supply of such heavy arms, the artillery attacks of Ukraine's armed forces have become more active and it appears that Ukrainian troops have received an order from Kiev to use such systems against civilians without hesitation.