The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
Exclusive

Ukraine’s rocket campaign reliant on U.S. precision targeting, officials say

Ukrainian officials say that they almost never launch HIMARS rounds without detailed coordinates provided by U.S. military personnel situated elsewhere in Europe

February 9, 2023 at 4:19 p.m. EST
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launches a rocket during a training exercise in June 2021. (Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP)
6 min

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials said they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.

The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.