Russian-backed forces bring Gvozdika howitzers, Grad systems to contact line in Donbas

A long-range unmanned aerial vehicle of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has spotted Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers and Grad multiple launch rocket systems located in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas in Donbas, the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) press center has reported on Facebook, with reference to an SMM report issued on September 9.

In particular, on September 8, an SMM long-range UAV spotted 16 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and six towed howitzers (D-30A Lyagushka, 122mm) near Buhaivka, the Luhansk region, as well as three multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Pokrovka, the Donetsk region. They were located in training areas in violation of withdrawal lines.

In addition, 12 tanks (five probable T-64 and seven type undetermined) and three probable surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10) were spotted in a training area near Buhaivka in the Luhansk region. In a training area near Ternove, the Donetsk region, a long-range UAV spotted four tanks (type undetermined), and in a training area near Pokrovka, it spotted three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), three towed howitzers (D-30A Lyagushka, 122mm) and ten tanks (type undetermined) outside of designated storage sites.

The Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination said that the recorded facts are a sign of the violation by Russian-backed forces of the agreements that came into force on July 27. In particular, this concerns the expansion and deepening of positions, as well as the systematic build-up of armaments and military hardware in the immediate vicinity of the contact line.

op