MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. The teams of Russian Msta-S and Msta-B howitzers wiped out a Ukrainian command post with Krasnopol smart munitions in the Kupyansk area during the special military operation in Ukraine, Spokesman for Russia’s Battlegroup West Sergey Zybinsky told TASS on Monday.
"The artillery teams of Msta-S and Msta-B howitzers destroyed a command post of the 122nd territorial defense brigade near the settlement of Gatishche, two Akatsiya and Gvozdika artillery guns and a truck-mounted surface-to-air gun near the communities of Petropavlovka, Pershotravnevoye and Artyomovka by Krasnopol precision-strike munitions," the spokesman said.
A Russian Tor anti-aircraft missile system destroyed a Ukrainian Elf reconnaissance drone, he added.
The Krasnopol is a precision-guided artillery munition that comprises a high explosive fire-adjusted shell and a laser target designator to direct the projectile at the target. The 152mm shell can be used by all types of artillery systems, including the Msta-S, Msta-SM and Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled artillery systems. The shell with its 8 kg warhead can hit a target at a distance of 20 km. The Krasnopol target designator can lock on three targets at a time.
The latest Krasnopol-M2 version uses 155mm shells, boasts a longer striking range (26 km) and improved accuracy of hitting small-size targets. In addition, the upgraded artillery munition features bolstered firepower and the capability to strike targets in any time of the day or night, even under strong wind conditions and heavy clouds.
Russia’s troops used Krasnopol precision-guided munitions in their military operation in Syria.