Kherson authorities say US specialists behind HIMARS attacks

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US specialists are behind the recent attacks launched by Ukrainian forces against the Kherson Region using the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), according to deputy head of the Kherson regional military-civil administration Kirill Stremousov.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian troops attacked the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and the Antonovsky Bridge, which spans the Dnieper River in Kherson Region. Air defense shot down at least a dozen HIMARS missiles used in the attacks.

"It is not Ukrainian nationalists who are behind the shelling of the Antonovsky bridge. These are specific actions of the Americans. American specialists who have arrived in Ukraine are firing at the bridge," Stremousov told Sputnik, adding that the bridge will be restored in any case, military and civil engineers are already working on it.

He stated that pontoon crossings across the Dnieper river could be set up within a few hours if necessary.

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Stremousov told Sputnik earlier this week that the Kherson Region was beefing up its air defense system in response to increased missile attacks from the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian troops have been shelling Kherson's residential districts more frequently in recent weeks. Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS to target the city of Nova Kakhovka earlier this month. As a result, a hospital and several residential buildings were damaged, and several people died.

The Kherson region and the majority of the Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine are now under Russian military control as a result of a special operation launched on February 24 after the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics requested Russian assistance amid intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

Local military-civil administrations have already been established in the two regions, which have announced plans to hold referendums on Russian membership.

A Russian source revealed that two HIMARS, supplied by the US to Ukraine, are currently deployed near the Kherson Region, while the rest are deployed in the Donbass region. According to the source, out-of-staff NATO personnel are in charge of the use of HIMARS systems in Ukraine, based on information received from the Ukrainian military.

The Pentagon has promised Kiev more than 20 HIMARS, 12 of which have already been delivered.