FLIR footage captured by an unknown source that was released by Russian sources shows a series of rocket impacts on what is allegedly Ukrainian positions. The rockets purportedly came from a Russian Ka-52, and have a massive area of effect.

When conducting an area effect style attack like this, generally speaking the target is not well-defined. Instead of having a specific object or position that you need to strike, you will have a large area where troops and equipment are present that needs to be effectively suppressed and degraded. That is where attacks like this come into play.

While we cannot confirm it from this footage alone, it is likely that the Russian troops believed there was a concentration of Ukrainian troops dug in throughout the specific area we seeing shelled by the unguided munitions here. In order to combat that without sending troops in directly with rifles, they instead opted to have a Ka-52 conduct a series of unguided rocket strikes to cover the area with as much concentrated fire as possible.

Closest to the camera, there appears to be a bit of dead space. This could be hiding Ukrainian FLIR signatures. Outside of that however, it doesn't really appear as if there's much going on in the specific area that they're shelling.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com