Thread by @SimonOstrovsky

Dozens of Ukrainian troops died in a July 17 Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv, unconfirmed by Ukraine’s military. I travelled to the city last week to produce this report for @NewsHour and saw first-hand the devastating toll Russia’s missiles are taking.

While much reporting lately has focused on the havoc American HIMARS missiles are surely causing to Russian forces, Russia’s own barrage of missile attacks against Ukraine appears to be well targeted and very damaging not just to civilians, but also to its war effort.

Up to 40 soldiers died in a single strike on a series of warehouses, a volunteer rescue worker told me. The toll could be as high as 50, according to another source. We’re reporting this incident for the first time and it illustrates Ukraine’s desperate need for air defense.

Both Ukraine and Russia do not routinely disclose their losses. In Ukraine however, this policy works at cross purposes with its goal of convincing allies and their publics of the need for more shipments of arms. It may be seen as an issue of morale here.

I often hear of outdated Russian rockets missing their targets but from what I saw in Mykolaiv, not only is Russia getting accurate coordinates for secret bases and supply dumps but they are hitting their marks. Mykolaiv region was hit with 129 missiles in two weeks. It’s scary.

And it seems no target is too small for Russia. We also visited the site of a still smoldering warehouse that contained nothing but food and drinks that had been guarded by two territorial defense soldiers. Direct hit.

Soldiers at the front echoed what the Ukrainian government is saying: western supplied missile systems have helped stabilize the frontline & slowed Russia’s advance. But that’s not the whole story. The battle is now increasingly being fought with missiles far behind enemy lines.