A Finnish official has mocked Russia’s reports that it is currently destroying some of Ukraine’s United States-supplied HIMARS missiles while describing the report as probably “wishful thinking” due to the capabilities of the rocket launching systems.
“Russia said it destroyed two HIMARS. This has not been confirmed and is likely wishful thinking, as the HIMARS are capable of operating beyond the range of Russian artillery, and Russia has no air superiority,” Ville Cantell, director of the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Sustainable Development and Trade Communications unit, tweeted Monday.
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Russia had on Monday reported that some of its forces had destroyed two U.S.-made HIMARS in Ukraine, adding to the four systems it previously said it took out.
Newsweek reached out to Cantell via the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Sustainable Development and Trade Communications unit to verify which of Russia’s reports on destroying HIMARS he was referring to.
The U.S. HIMARS, an acronym for M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, have been touted as a “game changer” in Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, which began in late February. The U.S. has sent 16 in total to Ukraine, four of which arrived Monday, according to an announcement from Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister.
“We have proven to be smart operators of this weapon,” Reznikov tweeted. “The sound of the #HIMARS volley has become a top hit of this summer at the front lines!”
In another report, the quest of the United States to dominate the oceans, as well as NATO’s expansion objectives, are the biggest threats confronting Russia, according to a new Russian naval doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
The 55-page document which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York claimed that the ‘main challenges and threats’ to national security and development were Washington’s ‘strategic objective to dominate the world’s oceans’ and NATO military infrastructure moving towards Russia’s borders.
‘Russia’s independent internal and external policy faces counter-measures from the United States and its allies, who aim to preserve their dominance in the world, including its oceans,’ said the doctrine, signed on Russian Navy Day.