The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Telegram that its special forces have successfully targeted and damaged 16 Russian BM-21 “Grad” Multiple Rocket Launch Systems (MLRS) in the past two weeks.
“Thanks to the precision work of the drone operators from the SBU’s Alpha special unit, these MLRS and their crews will no longer be able to destroy Ukrainian cities and villages,” the report said.
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The SBU also released footage showing the destruction of the Russian Grads, which Kyiv Post analysts confirmed as authentic BM-21 Grad units but were unable to independently verify exactly where and when the footage was captured.
The BM-21 Grad MLRS, introduced almost 60 years ago and continually modernized, has been widely deployed by both Ukrainian and Russian forces throughout the current conflict.
Known for its high mobility, the Grad can launch 122-mm rockets in rapid volleys and is compatible with 50 different types of warheads, with the high-explosive fragmentation round being the most commonly used.
Since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, and especially since the full-scale escalation in 2022, Russian forces have used the Grad to bombard Ukrainian defensive positions and cities, including Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy.
Human Rights Watch commented on the Grad’s notorious inaccuracy when it appeared on the Donbas battlefields in 2017:
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“Grads are notoriously indiscriminate. Once fired, these unguided rockets can land anywhere within a rectangle of approximately 54,000 square meters or about seven-and-a-half football fields. Each rocket carries roughly 6.4 kilograms of high explosives, generating around 3,150 shrapnel fragments capable of maiming or killing within a 28-meter radius.”
The Grad – which translates from Russian as “hail” – remains one of the most widely deployed MLRS systems globally. While capable of significant destruction, its imprecision has earned it a reputation as “nasty and indiscriminate.”
Each rocket fired releases up to 4,000 shrapnel fragments, designed primarily to target personnel rather than equipment.
Operated by a three-member crew, the Grad can be moved into position and prepared to fire in under three minutes. The system can unleash all 40 rockets in under 20 seconds or fire them in smaller bursts, adapting to drone-dominated modern battlefields.
One battalion of 18 Grads is capable of launching 720 rockets in a single salvo, with some types reaching targets up to 20 kilometers away.
In late July 2023, Oryx reported that the Russian military had lost 251 Grad Multiple Rocket Launch Systems (MLRS) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), with 182 destroyed, 14 damaged, two abandoned, and 53 captured. This figure reportedly represents approximately 50 percent of Russia’s total Grad arsenal, according to the independent intelligence organization.
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