It should be noted that Ukraine is not being invaded by one country, Russia, but also Belarus and Chechnya. The latter is a de facto independent state but is within the Russian republic while Belarus is an independent country. Both of these countries have supplied troops to the invasion and in the case of Belarus, allowed Russian troop movements through their territory.
The city of Kherson, located in south Ukraine, is being reported as surrendering to Russian forces as of March 2. The city's mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, stated that Russian soldiers are within the city and that there are no Ukrainian military forces within the city limits. However, other reports state there are still skirmishes occurring outside the city proper. If Kherson is, indeed, under Russian occupation, it gives the Russians a vital port on the Black Sea and secures a base of operations to launch attacks against Odessa. The Kherson Oblast (region) continues to see combat with several battles having been fought and still ongoing within the area. Cities lost to Russian forces include Melitopol and Berdiansk while the cities of Mykolaiv and Zaporozhzhia are still being contested.
The photograph here shows a part of a Russian column destroyed somewhere within the Kherson Oblast. The gun being towed is a D-30 122mm howitzer. This is a weapon nearly 60 years old, having entered service in 1963. Although no longer built in Russia, the Russian military still has some 4,750 D-30 howitzers in service. It is still built in other countries and over 60 nations (including Ukraine with a reported 129 examples) have the D-30 in their military arsenals. This is a testament to its design and robustness. When deployed in action, the D-30 unfurls three stabilizers with the gun in the center, fitted atop a turntable that allows 360 degree rotation. The hydro-pneumatic recoil system sits on top of the gun barrel which allows for a low profile of the D-30. The gun has a maximum elevation of 70 degrees and a maximum depression of 7 degrees. The D-30 uses a semi-automatic, vertical sliding-wedge breech. The howitzer has a crew of seven and a trained team can run 10 to 12 rounds through the gun per minute though in practice, it is usually half that rate of fire. In part, this is because the muzzle brake is so large (in order to absorb half the recoil forces) that is creates a massive over-pressure around the gun. This means the crew typically uses a long lanyard to fire the gun and stands well away from it, reducing load times. The low profile also means the D-30 can be used for direct fire and comes with a telescope sight for anti-tank duties. The typical range of the D-30 using standard high-explosive rounds is 9.6 miles but with rocket-assisted shells, it can attain a range of 13.6 miles.
The truck the howitzer is being towed by appears to be either a ZiL-131 or a Ural 4320. The white “Z” on the rear gate has been the subject of a number of online articles. Some state the “Z” means the unit is part of the thrust into Ukraine from the east. A “Z” with a white square around it indicates forces coming up from Crimea (from the south) into Ukraine while a “O” means units from the north that pushed into Ukraine from Belarus. Chechen units are believed to use a white “X”, special forces a white “A”, and Russian Marines a white “V”. Some other sources state these may simply be general identification marks to avoid friendly fire incidents without any specific allocation to where units are going within Ukraine.
Originally posted on March 2, 2022.
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