Armed Forces
Ukraine Employs Polish Cluster Munitions, Conducting Strikes in Russia?
Photo. Autor. Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU)/Twitter
Elements that may come from the Polish-made cluster munitions for the 122 mm rocket artillery systems have been spotted in images published online. Social media posts suggest that these may have been used to conduct strikes against targets located in Russia, near the border.
Elements of rockets with M-21FK and GKO designations appear on the images. These designations are associated with the Polish-made 122 mm Grad rockets - they can also be launched by RM-70 and WR-40 Langusta systems. These usually carry 42 GKO SC-Frag submunitions, characterized by relatively good performance and reliability.
🇵🇱🇺🇦 | The remains of Polish-made M-21FK Feniks 122mm rockets with cluster warhead, employed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) March 19, 2024
These munitions can be launched from 122mm multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), such as BM-21 Grad or RM-70/85 Vampire. Their max. range is around 32km.
The… pic.twitter.com/TlE0bx9mDa
The rockets themselves offer a range of 32 kilometres. They were manufactured in a limited quantity throughout the 2010s. The deliveries were suspended once France, signing the Oslo Cluster Munitions Ban convention, stopped delivering the relevant components.
Noteworthy, elements of another variant of Feniks rockets had also appeared in the photographs from Ukraine in the past. Back then, the photographs were showing the conventional Feniks-HD rockets - they are still being manufactured, and offer a much greater range, exceeding 40 kilometres.
Cooperation: Jakub Palowski