Moscow: Russia’s defence ministry says its forces destroyed four US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) in Ukraine earlier this month.
Between July 5 and 20, “four launchers and one reloading vehicle for the US-made multiple launch rocket systems (HIMARS) were destroyed,” it said in a daily briefing on Friday.
Kyiv rejected Moscow’s claims, calling them “fakes” designed to undermine the West’s support for Ukraine.
Ukraine has accused the Russians of intensifying missile and rocket attacks on cities in recent weeks in a deliberate attempt to terrorise its population.
Thousands of people have been killed and cities and towns devastated by Russian bombardment, with even some towns far from front lines hit by missiles. Moscow denies deliberately firing on civilians and says all its targets are military.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has hailed the arrival of eight HIMARS in Ukraine as a possible game-changer for the course of the war, now about to enter its sixth month.