Ukrainian marines have destroyed Russia’s “Smerch" multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) used in attacks on civilians in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, the Naval Forces of Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement on Saturday.
The operation to strike the MLRS was carried out jointly by the 426th Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems and the 30th Marine Corps. According to the statements, the marines “had been hunting the enemy system for several weeks and caught it right at its firing position.” The date and the location of the operation have not been revealed. Smerch is a heavy self-propelled 300 mm multiple rocket launcher system used widely since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022.
The Ukrainian Navy also struck a Russian unmanned surface vessel in Ukraine’s territorial waters near a civilian shipping route, local media reported, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces revealed that Russia’s war casualties have reached 1,129,180 as of October 18, with 1,150 soldiers killed or wounded in the past 24 hours. In addition, Ukrainian Air Defense Forces destroyed 136 out of 164 Russian drones launched at the country over the past day, the General Stuff stated.
According to an updated provided in the Facebook page of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s defense forces have eliminated a total of 11,267 Russian tanks, 23,396 armored fighting vehicles, and 33,789 artillery systems. Additionally, they have destroyed 1,522 multiple rocket launchers, 1,228 air defense systems, and 3,864 cruise missiles. Russian forces have also lost 428 aircraft, 346 helicopters, 71,523 tactical UAVs, 28 warships and boats, 1 submarine, 64,672 vehicles and fuel tankers, and 3,973 units of special equipment.
