Ukrainian service members manning a FH70 howitzer in the Donbass region. Screen grab (https://youtu.be/iLWMh8q61S8).
The Russian military has destroyed a battery of Italian-made FH70 155 mm towed howitzers which were recently supplied to Kiev forces.
On May 29, Russian sources shared footage showing the destruction of the FH70 battery on an unspecified front in the Donbass region. The battery was struck by what appears to be a heavy artillery shell that knocked out the howitzers with shrapnel and blow up their ammunition.
The FH70 a range of 24 kilometers or up to 30 kilometers with extended range shells. The howitzer can fire a burst of three rounds in 15 seconds thanks to a unique a semi-automatic loading system which consists of a loading tray and an automatic tube loader.
The howitzer was developed by an international consortium, which included Vickers Ltd in the UK, OTO Melara in Italy, and Rheinmetall from Germany.
In May, the Italian government approved the delivery of an unspecified number of FH70 howitzers from the Italian army inventory to Ukraine. Kiev forces in Donbass were spotted with the howitzers very recently.
Kiev received hundreds of howitzers from its Western allies in the last few weeks. Despite this, its forces are still outgunned by the Russian artillery.
The Russian military has been tracking down and destroying Western-supplied heavy weapons in Ukraine with high effectiveness. While the destruction of these weapons will not likely deter the West, it will certainly affect the combat capabilities and morale of Kiev forces.
