Ukrainian service members firing a M777 howitzer on an unspecified front in the Donbass region. Source: the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The Russian military and its allies has captured for the first time one of the M777 155 mm towed howitzers recently supplied by the US and other Western states to Kiev forces.
On July 12, the WarGonzo channel on Telegram shared a short video of the howitzer, which was captured by the 2nd Lugansk Corps. The howitzer is severely damaged, most likely beyond repair. It was likely abandoned by Kiev forces after being hit. Despite this, Russian experts can likely use the captured howitzer to study the design.
The M777 howitzer has a maximum rate of fire of seven rounds per minute with a range of up to 40 kilometers when firing Excalibur precision-guided rounds. The US, Canada and Australia have supplied Kiev forces with more than 100 howitzers of this type along with hundreds of thousands of 155 mm rounds since April.
The US latest $400 million military aid package to Ukraine included at least 1,000 Excalibur rounds for the M777s and other 155 mm howitzers which were recently supplied to Kiev forces.
While this is the first time the Russian military and its allies capture a M777, they did destroy many howitzers of this type. Over the past week, Russian strikes destroyed three hangars in the Donbass region where M777 howitzers were stored.
Ukraine received more than 200 howitzers of different types from its Western allies after the beginning of the Russian special military operation. Despite this, its forces are still outgunned by the Russian military and its allies.
