Ukrainians fill Soviet 122mm MRL system with Pakistani rockets
KYIV, UKRAINE — Is Pakistan maintaining its neutrality on the war in Ukraine or selling out to Ukraine? This question is raised after evidence emerged that Ukrainian troops are using Pakistan’s 122mm Yarmuk HE-Frag missiles. The Ukrainians load the Pakistani ammunition into a Soviet 9M22U MRL.
- Pakistan has begun production of the sixth Hangor-class sub
- Obsolete Soviet T-80UD tanks for Ukraine, but if someone pays
- 159 containers of ammunition are traveling from Pakistan to Ukraine
Pakistan has long denied supplying weapons to Ukraine, although this is not the first evidence of Pakistani munitions in the war. However, it is entirely possible that it was not Pakistan, but a third country that provided Ukraine with this type of missile. So, for now, there is no documentary evidence of direct export from Islamabad to Kyiv.
However, there are reports that Pakistan has supplied at least 10,000 missiles of this particular model to the Ukrainian armed forces. According to Indian sources, Islamabad used the well-known scheme since the beginning of the war of supplying weapons through third countries to avoid Moscow’s wrath. The India Times claims that through a Polish and German port, Islamabad delivered thousands of missiles to Kyiv.
122mm Yarmuk
122mm Yarmuk rockets are Pakistani rockets with a HE-Frag warhead. The range of the missile is 20.5 km. The Yarmouk is the Pakistani equivalent of the 9M22U missile used by the Soviet Union and now Russia to operate the BM-21 Grad. A rocket weighs about 66 kg. The maximum flight speed that the rocket can reach is 1,400 km/h. The rocket is not steerable and is powered by a solid-fuel rocket engine.
A free-flight surface-to-surface artillery rocket, 122 mm HE [MBRL], can be fired from one or more tubes. Offers a burst-and-shatter effect when used against personnel and light materials.
In addition to Germany and Poland, there is a very real possibility that Great Britain will be directly involved in the supply of Pakistani arms. As recently as last year, there were reports that an airlift for classified cargo had been built between Poland and Pakistan, which was controlled by the UK.
Pakistan denies
Pakistan continues to deny any involvement in arming Ukraine. Following a policy of neutrality, Pakistan even refuted the news that it was preparing to supply tanks to Ukraine, declaring it false. “Reports of delivery of defense items from Pakistan to Ukraine are not accurate,” were the words of Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch defending the neutrality thesis.
Official Islamabad claims that the news of direct weapons delivery is provocative actions. They aim to worsen the country’s good relations with Russia. Russia has so far also not commented on the Pakistani ammunition found in Ukraine, remaining silent on the issue.
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