The Defense Forces have changed the tactics of artillery use.

The Deputy Commander of the Rocket Forces and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Musiyenko, reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have changed the tactics of artillery use at the front.

It currently has its own characteristics, said the military in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

'We have changed the tactics of artillery use overall,' he noted.

As explained by the colonel, the main tactical unit of artillery, according to the combat charter of artillery, is a division, the main fire unit is a battery, and a battery consists of 4-6 guns. They are deployed in a combat formation in the field with an interval of about 50 meters and simultaneously carry out tasks – either adjusting fire or conducting a bombardment on a target.

'The platoon commander - the senior officer of the battery manages all the guns of the battery at the firing position. But now such a placement is impossible in the field, as they would all be detected and destroyed,' the military explained the specifics.

Currently, according to Musiyenko, the Armed Forces have primarily dispersed the artillery.

'We do not stand in combat formations; each gun operates as an individual fire asset, it is autonomous, has its own communications and carries out tasks in interaction with another gun that is at a distance,' he says.

Change of tactics of the Russian enemy

As the Deputy Commander says, during the Izyum operation, he first noticed that the enemy positioned their artillery in a classic combat formation - in divisions, in a line. It was enough to hit even one gun, not at their guns, but at the ammunition supply vehicle, to create chaos in their position.

'According to their combat charter, the ammunition supply vehicles are positioned somewhere around 200-300 meters from the guns. If these 5-6 vehicles start burning, detonating, exploding - it was significantly more effective, and their entire division is unable to perform tasks,' he said.

Currently, according to Musiyenko, the Russians have also switched to a dispersion of artillery, although they did not do this immediately due to a lack of communication means.

'When the occupiers came in, they didn't even have mobile phones. They used regular radio means, which allowed us to listen to them. Therefore, they grouped in directions, and we could strike them. These were the first 4-5 months when they suffered tremendous losses during their advance,' he explained.