Before Ukraine fires HIMARS, Pentagon confirms targets – media

When employing the U.S.-supplied HIMARS on the battlefield, the Armed Forces of Ukraine use target coordinates provided by the Pentagon or U.S. allies.

This is reported by the Washington Post, as seen by Ukrinform.

According to the publication's sources, Ukrainian troops almost never launch HIMARS without specific coordinates provided by the American partners.

Targeting assistance ensures accuracy and allows for the efficient use of limited ammunition stocks. At the same time, the Ukrainian forces usually choose targets to strike Russian positions independently when using other (non-American) types of weapons.

According to the publication's sources, Ukrainian servicemen determine the targets they seek to hit and send this information to senior commanders before it is forwarded to U.S. partners at one of the bases in Europe to verify the coordinates. If Americans do not return confirmed data, in such cases the Ukrainians do not engage such targets.

 “We have long acknowledged that we share intelligence with Ukraine to assist them in defending their country against Russian aggression, and we have optimized over time how we share information to be able to support their requests and their targeting processes at improved speed and scale,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said in the statement. “The Ukrainians are responsible for finding targets, prioritizing them and then ultimately deciding which ones to engage. The U.S. does not approve targets, nor are we involved in the selection or engagement of targets.”

As reported earlier, more than 100 Russian soldiers were killed as a result of the explosions in the temporarily captured Berdiansk, where the local airfield was hit.