Ukraine Destroys Rare North Korean Rocket Launcher Used by Russia

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Updated Jul 6, 2025, 04:15 AM

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Ukraine’s 413th RAID Unmanned Systems Battalion says it has carried out the first confirmed destruction of a North Korean–made M1991 240 mm multiple-launch rocket system operated by Russian troops near Novopavlivka in the Donetsk region. Video released by the unit shows a first-person-view drone striking a rocket on the launcher rack, triggering a detonation that ripped through the crew compartment and disabled the vehicle.

The strike is notable because it marks the first documented loss of the rare M1991 system, an upgrade of the Soviet 220 mm Uragan launcher that North Korea adapted to fire 240 mm rockets with a reported range of up to 60 km. The incident underscores both Russia’s increasing reliance on foreign-supplied weapons and Kyiv’s growing use of inexpensive FPV drones to hunt high-value artillery assets.

In a separate engagement reported on 5 July, Ukrainian forces said they destroyed a Russian 2S19 Msta-S 152 mm self-propelled howitzer with a U.S.-supplied M142 HIMARS strike, guided by Aeronavty operators using a German-provided Vector reconnaissance drone. Moscow’s Defence Ministry, meanwhile, claimed its “Dnepr” detachment knocked out a Ukrainian M777 towed howitzer and its transport truck in the Kherson region. The opposing accounts point to an intensifying contest of counter-battery strikes across the front.

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