Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Iskander-M Strike Kills Around 50 Western Foreign Fighters on Ukrainian Frontlines

Eastern Europe and Central Asia , Missile and Space , Battlefield

July-23rd-2024

A Russian Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile system on June 23 successfully targeted a temporary deployment point for instructors and combatants from Western countries in the disputed Kharkov region, causing approximately 50 deaths.

The attack represents one of the latest to have particularly singled out foreign fighters in the conflict. The Russian Defence Ministry reported regarding the strike: "The crew of the Iskander-M tactical missile system launched a missile attack on a point of temporary deployment of instructors and mercenaries from Western countries in the village of Dergachi, Kharkov region. As a result of the strike, about 50 foreign instructors were killed.”

The ministry published footage of the strike, which represents one of multiple recent successful attacks by the Iskander-M against high value targets that has been caught on camera. Other notable successes have included multiple successful strikes on MIM-104 Patriot air defence systems, and the destruction of multiple Su-27 fighters at Ukraine’s Mirgorod Air Base.

The Iskander arsenal has been supplemented since December by the deployment of North Korean KN-23 systems which have very similar capabilities but longer ranges.

Ukrainian Patriot System Milliseconds Before Iskander Strike

Western combatants have been singled out for attacks since the outset of hostilities in early 2022, an example being a strike on March 13 that year against a military training base in Yavoriv under 15km from the Polish border where close to 1000 foreign fighters were based, killing an estimated 180 personnel.

Another was the precision strike launched by Iskander-M ballistic missile systems on Georgian Legion foreign fighters in late April 2023, destroying 15 vehicles, killing up to 60 personnel and seriously wounding more than 20 more.

The latest attack represents one of the most significant single losses among Western combatants in Ukraine in 2024, and follows a successful missile strike on the evening of January 16 targeting the headquarters of predominantly French European foreign fighters, which caused at least 80 casualties 60 or more of whom were killed.

Russian state media reported that these personnel were “highly trained specialists who work on specific weapons systems too complex for the average Ukrainian conscripts,” which “put some of the most lethal and long-range weapons in the Ukrainian arsenal out of service until more specialists are found” to replace them. Contractors from across the Western world have played a significant role in operating large quantities of complex Western weaponry such as American MIM-104 Patriot air defence systems.

Facility Hosting Western Combatants