Artillery strikes are playing a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine in what top American commanders have called a “battle of fires”.
Russia’s military initially had a significant advantage over the Ukrainian armed forces because of a much larger arsenal of artillery systems.
It meant they were able to devastate Ukrainian positions in the east, while staying out of the range of Ukrainian weapons.
The United Kingdom, United States and belatedly Germany have worked to tip the balance of firepower on the battlefield in favour of Ukraine by giving their allies artillery systems that not only have a longer range than the Russians but fire with greater accuracy.
This includes arming Ukrainian troops with multiple-launch rocket systems or MLRS.
MLRS stands for “Multiple-Launch Rocket System”, a mobile rocket artillery system that fires multiple surface-to-surface missiles.
The British Army’s Royal Artillery uses the M270 rocket system.
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Operated by a crew of three (driver, gunner and section chief), the weapon is a highly-mobile, automatic system that can fire 12 surface-to-surface precision-guided missiles in less than a minute. They can be fired individually or in pairs of two up to 12.
The M31 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions, with a 200lb high explosive warhead, can hit a target more than 50 miles away – twice the range of other artillery systems used by the army.
A programme is underway to extend the reach even further.
A fire control computer ensures accuracy is maintained by re-aiming the launcher between rounds.
The M270 MLRS was developed under a US-led programme that saw the first systems come into service in the 1980s.
The UK first used its MLRS during the First Gulf War
Image: Sky News is the first to be granted permission to film a multiple-launch rocket system given to Ukraine by the UK
What has the UK given to Ukraine to bolster its firepower?
The UK has given a total of six MLRS to Ukraine, as well as precision guided M31A1 missiles.
The first tranche of three was announced in June 2022, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace saying the system would “help the country defend itself against Russian aggression”.
A new commitment to double the UK’s contribution was made two months later.
The UK MLRS and a similar artillery system provided to Ukraine by the US, called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), have a longer range, much better precision and a faster rate of fire compared with Soviet-designed Smerch, Uragan and Tornado multiple rocket launchers used by both Russia and Ukraine.
Germany has given the Ukrainians its version – MARS II rocket launchers as well as hundreds of rockets.
It means that Ukrainian troops are able to hit Russian positions – including armoured vehicles, military bases, command posts and ammunition stores – with accuracy and with a reduced risk of being struck in Russian return fire.
The Russian military is forced to use large numbers of rounds against a target to compensate for a lack of precision with their weapons.
The UK M31A1 missiles have been designed to defend against Russian heavy artillery and the MLRS’s range of more than 50 miles allows Ukraine to strike beyond Russian lines, while also putting it out of reach of most Russian artillery systems.
Western leaders have so far have refrained from providing Ukraine with even longer-range missiles for launchers that can reach targets up to 186 miles, allowing the military to hit areas deep inside Russian territory.
Does Russia have MLRS?
Russia has its own multiple launch rocket system: the 9K58 Smerch 300mm MLRS. It fires the 300mm 9M55K rocket and has a range of between 12 and 43 miles.
Smerch was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Russian Army in 1988.
It is also used by the militaries of India, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine, and was exported to Kuwait and Algeria.
What is the difference between MLRS and HIMARS?
HIMARS can fire the same family of munitions as MLRS launchers but with one key difference: a wheeled chassis instead of tracks.
The tracks on the MLRS make the system highly mobile, with a max speed of 40mph.
This means the launchers are hard for the enemy to spot and can quickly change position after firing to escape airstrikes, in what has become known as a “shoot and scoot” strategy.
What are the disadvantages of MLRS?
Ukraine says the number of rocket launcher systems being provided by Western leaders is still far too small.
In June, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said the country needs at least 300 MLRS, 1,000 heavy howitzers, 500 tanks and 2,000 armoured vehicles – much more than the West has provided.
Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.
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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and “bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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2:45
What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.
Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31Â people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.
Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.
Image: Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters
Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”
Image: The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi
On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.
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It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.
Image: People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.
More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.
In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.
Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.
The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.
The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.
Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.
“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”
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Behind the scenes at the Vatican
The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.
Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.
Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.
He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.
“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.
Image: People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP
This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.
“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.