MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Ukraine was unable to fully utilize the potential of the American multiple launch rocket systems HIMARS, which Kiev had been seeking from its Western partners for a long time due to a lack of space intelligence data, former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army and current ambassador to the UK Valery Zaluzhny said.
"Due to the lack and delays in the exchange [with Western allies] of specialized information from space, it was not possible to use the full potential of systems such as HIMARS. As it turned out, space capabilities are crucial for targeting, navigation, and communications, ensuring the effectiveness of missile strikes. And if the problem with communication at the expense of SpaceX's Starlink company had already been solved, and the problem with navigation needed both time and resources, then timely reconnaissance and time-coordinate support was needed immediately," Zaluzhny wrote in an article he contributed to Ukrainian defense portal Militarny.
The United States, as part of its military assistance to Kiev, provided it with support in the operation and guidance of the HIMARS MLRS and other types of weapons.
The ex-commander-in-chief added that later the strategic importance of HIMARS systems significantly decreased.
The first HIMARS systems were delivered to Kiev in the summer of 2022. Ukraine presented this as a breakthrough that would significantly increase the capabilities of its army.