The Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed an enemy Grad multiple rocket launcher system in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

This was reported on the official page of the National Guard of Ukraine on Telegram.

The defeat of the enemy multiple rocket launcher system took place jointly with a unit of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, which conducted aerial reconnaissance of the area and detected the presence of the enemy.

The coordinates of the enemy installation were transmitted by a drone operator to a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, which launched an FPV drone to destroy it.

The enemy Grad was promptly hit by the drone after it fired at Ukrainian Defence Forces positions in the area. The enemy crew lost the system before they could dismount and leave the position.

The enemy probably planned to fire from two different positions in order to avoid being detected by the defense forces’ intelligence and successfully return to their positions, which they ultimately failed to do.

It should be noted that due to the rather low accuracy and limited range, Russian Grad MRL systems have to approach the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces at a distance of 15 to 20 km, which increases the likelihood of detection and, accordingly, the risk of losing the system.

This is also confirmed by the losses of rocket systems, which since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 have totalled 266 units that have been destroyed or damaged.

Losses and damage were analysed by the OSINT project Oryx, which recorded in its reports that most of those systems had been destroyed and a smaller number had been damaged.

In addition, the enemy suffered significant losses in multiple launch rocket systems in October-November 2024, when, during two weeks of work on the frontline, the SSU units managed to destroy 16 BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems.

During this hunt, SSU units tried to destroy the launch guides in which the missiles were placed.

In addition, many systems were found that were equipped with anti-drone protection, which could theoretically protect the launcher from Ukrainian drones. However, due to design flaws, no improvements in protection could be achieved.