Retired US Army General Mark Hertling said on Saturday that the High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) given to Ukraine to help in its fight against Russia are a "game changer", claiming that the forces of Moscow are now "in a serious condition".

The White House announced on Friday that an additional $270 million in security assistance would be sent to Ukraine, including four additional HIMARS.

And the missile systems are seen as crucial to helping Kiev's forces push back Moscow's military.

The announcement from the Biden administration came after a senior US defense official told reporters on Friday that Ukraine had used HIMARS "to take out more than 100 high-value targets".

Those strikes effectively destroyed ammunition depots, long-range artillery positions, command posts, air defense sites and radar and communications nodes, the official said.

"As for HIMARS - it's a game changer," retired General Hertling tweeted Saturday, offering analysis on the war.

As for HIMARS – w/ fewer rounds, greater range, precision accuracy – it's a game changer.

But...a pet peeve of mine (for reporters & others):

"Taking out" implies dating.


"Taking down" implies wrestling.

HIMARS destroys things, kills people.

We ought to use those terms.

10/ pic.twitter.com/BvvVQ6mZkR

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) July 23, 2022

"Russia is in dire straits and losing, Ukraine is adapting to the war and winning," he asserted.

Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared his assessment of the new US-deployed HIMARS.

Thank you @POTUS for the new defense aid package for Ukraine.

Critically important, powerful arms will save our soldiers' lives, speed up the liberation of our land from the Russian aggressor.

I appreciate the strategic friendship between our nations.

Together to victory!

🇺🇦🤝🇺🇸

— Volodymyr Zelenskyi (@ZelenskyyUa) July 23, 2022

“Thank you @POTUS [Biden] for the new defense aid package for Ukraine.

Important and powerful weapons will save the lives of our soldiers, accelerate the liberation of our land from the Russian aggressor.

I value the strategic friendship between our nations.

Together to victory!” Zelensky tweeted hours after the White House made the announcement.

While the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, stated that sending HIMARS to Ukraine is a successful pressure on Russia, leading to a diplomatic breakthrough regarding the port in Odessa, Ukraine.

The agreement to unblock Odesa would have been impossible without HIMARS.

It's now very clear that the war will end earlier if we arm Ukraine faster.

— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@GLandsbergis) July 22, 2022

"The agreement to unlock Odesa would have been impossible without HIMARS.

It is now very clear that the war will end sooner if we arm Ukraine sooner," Landsbergis wrote on Twitter on Friday, Telegraph reports.

Otherwise, the US has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid, while it defends itself from Moscow's aggression.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the internationally condemned war five months ago on February 24, strangely claiming that the government in Kiev is run by Nazis.

In reality, Zelensky is Jewish and had family members killed in the Holocaust genocide perpetuated by Nazi Germany in World War II.

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Telegraph

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