Experts say Russia’s MLRS losses helped derail its spring-summer offensive

Russia’s multiple-launch rocket systems, once central to its battlefield firepower, suffered losses that clearly contributed to the collapse of its spring-summer offensive campaign, the article argues.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, MLRS battalions formed a key part of artillery brigades. They attacked troop concentrations and logistics areas, conducted remote mining and counter-battery fire, and were also used to terrorize civilians. Ukraine treated the systems as high-value targets, especially after receiving long-range Western artillery and developing reconnaissance and attack drones.

By September 2025, only 18 percent of Russia’s MLRS systems remained in equipment storage parks, according to the article. Russia sought to replace the losses, with North Korea providing the largest contribution. Transfers of North Korean Grad systems had been recorded since 2023, while deliveries intensified in early 2025 and included M1991 systems, an Uragan analogue with a range of about 70 kilometers, and Type 75 short-range systems with a range of 8.5 kilometers.

Because short-range, static systems quickly became vulnerable in the drone era, Russia began mounting them on robotic platforms to improve their survivability. It also manufactured and modernized older MLRS and fielded a limited number of Sarma systems. The resulting mix initially appeared to be recovering some strength.

Ukraine then prepared to target Russian artillery, including MLRS, ahead of the 2026 spring-summer offensive. Russian MLRS strikes peaked in March, when Moscow sought to disrupt or destroy Ukrainian defenses. Their number later fell 4.2 times by August. The article says that decline was too steep to explain simply by a static front or the need to keep artillery aligned with maneuvering troops. Ukrainian forces destroyed 50 Russian MLRS in March, 83 in June, and kept monthly losses above 70 for the following three months.