British rocket launchers turning the tide against Russia filmed for the first time
Three British rockets streaked into the sky towards Russian forces under attack in a key frontline town in eastern Ukraine.
The target was a mobile Russian command post. A Ukrainian artillery officer said it would have been hit because his soldiers never miss.
Sky News is the first to be granted permission to film a multiple-launch rocket system given to Ukraine by the UK in action during the war and to meet the soldiers operating it.
“Thanks to these weapons, we’ve carried out really high priority missions,” said the commander of the artillery unit, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
This included hitting military bases, columns of armoured vehicles and ammunition stores.
UK and German weapons responsible for 30% of Ukraine’s success in the east
The commander said, in his opinion, around 30% of the successes achieved by Ukraine in a major counter-offensive in the east were thanks to British, as well as German, rocket launchers.
“This is one of the key factors, which influenced the Russian army not just to retreat, but to run,” the officer said, referring to the recapture in recent weeks of swathes of illegally-occupied territory across Kharkiv region and into the Donbas.
Sky News was granted exclusive access last week to soldiers operating one of six M270 Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) that Britain has given to Ukraine.
The commander and a number of his men also received training in the UK on how to operate the system.
“I want to say thank you to all officers, sergeants and instructors who took part in our training, because it was so powerful,” the officer said.
“They gave us a lot… Thanks to the training, only three days after returning from England we were already carrying out missions.”
Hidden in a line of trees in the middle of sprawling fields, the dark green contraption – the size of a large pickup truck on a set of tracked wheels – was deliberately hard to find.
We were not allowed to reveal the location nor the true names of any of the soldiers we met.
Ukraine’s limited number of long-range artillery pieces make them a prime target for Russia.
But the mood among troops at their makeshift base under the trees seemed pretty relaxed.
They were just exhausted having worked through the night and into the day, conducting “fire missions” against Russian targets as part of a Ukrainian advance on the town of Lyman.
Rocket launcher doubles up as mobile home for soldiers
We met the unit on 29 September. The town was recaptured by Ukraine two days later.
One of the soldiers, who his commander named as “Ghost Rider”, showed us around the rocket launcher, which loomed over him, framed by orange-coloured autumn leaves.
It is a mobile home as much as a war machine, with the servicemen eating, sleeping and fighting from inside a cabin built at the front.
Dotted around a steering wheel, control panel and computer screen was a tin can of bacon, a slumped rifle, even an air-freshener attached to a wire in a corner on the ceiling.
There were also tell-tale signs of the rocket launcher’s British owners and American manufacturers, with panel instructions such as “fire extinguisher” and “turn indicator” in English.
The long, green missiles, stored on a large rectangular-box-shaped launcher, sit behind the cabin, making the weapon completely self-contained.
Three soldiers operate the system, one giving commands, another ensuring the coordinates for the target are correct on the inbuilt computer panel and a third driving.
Asked how he felt when he fired the launcher, knowing he was attacking Russian positions, Ghost Rider, a young lieutenant, said: “After launch, the first feeling was my heart like this – boom, boom. That’s all. And then everything was calm.”
Men on duty 24/7 for month-and-a-half
This unit of artillery men and engineers has kept the weapon operational and on the move 24 hours a day, every day for the past month and a half.
It’s not easy. In service since the First Gulf War back in 1990 to 1991, the system is often in need of repair and their headquarters can call at any moment to order a strike.
By the time we joined the team on 29 September, they had already carried out six operations over the past 24 hours, with minimal sleep, launching around 50 rockets.
The artillery commander, whose unit operates the six British multiple launch rocket systems as well as three German MARS II launchers, said they only go after high-value targets.
Their missile-supply is finite, so the Ukrainians need to be selective.
It is also about quality rather than quantity.
The missiles fired by the British system – Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System munition, or M31A1 – are precision-guided, with a range of more than 50 miles (80km).
It means they are highly accurate. This also reduces the potential for civilian casualties.
In contrast, much of Russia’s artillery systems – and the Soviet-era launchers previously used by Ukraine – must bombard a target with a barrage of rockets to ensure it is destroyed, requiring much more ammunition and causing a lot more collateral destruction.
As we waited with the soldiers, a missile resupply arrived.
A large vehicle with a mini crane rolled into sight along the treeline. It lowered several missiles – each with M31A1 written in white on the side – for them to be slotted into the MLRS.
‘Fire’ shouted in English
Minutes later, the team received a strike order. It was the mission to target the mobile command post.
The operators scrambled into their cabin and drove the giant weapon out of its leafy shelter. A tree branch jutted out of one side – remnants of the camouflage.
They headed to a field, the tracked wheels enabling the team to travel with ease and at a decent speed despite the muddy ground.
Firing spot chosen, the launcher was slowly pointed diagonally upwards. It made the same kind of grinding mechanical noise as a forklift truck being raised.
Target locked, a commander in the cabin said “fire” in English, a switch was flicked and the rockets were launched.
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The team then needed to move away quickly because of the possibility of Russian forces working out where the artillery came from and returning fire.
The whole process, from aiming to firing, is done in a couple of minutes – American operators in the past have coined the phrase “shoot and scoot”. The weapon is also nicknamed the “70km sniper rifle” – a nod to its range and accuracy.
Back under tree cover, the unit waited once more for instructions.
After about three hours of standing around, checking an encrypted device used to receive instructions, a Ukrainian Humvee churned into view through the undergrowth. It was part of a force tasked with protecting the system.
The soldiers chatted, then another firing mission came in and out the rocket launcher rolled.
A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.
The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.
A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.
Pic: PA
French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.
A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.
Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”
Pic: PA
Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.
Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.
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Provisional statistics from the Home Office suggest almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK so far this year.
Towns and cities across the UK have seen protests in recent days, primarily outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.
Here the Lionesses are again. Another final. Another showdown with Spain.
All of a sudden, what was once so anticipated and longed for can start to seem expected rather than extraordinary.
What happened to the great underachievers of world football? They are now consistently among the final two going for glory.
At Euro 2022, the Lionesses ended England’s 56-year wait for a major trophy by beating Germany 2-1 after extra time. Pic: Reuters
No one is taking that for granted.
Especially not Leah Williamson, with the chance to retain the European Championship trophy lifted three years ago at Wembley.
“The opportunity of tomorrow and what’s on offer is the best thing in football,” the England captain said. “I think we don’t necessarily carry the weight of it and how much it means to people, but we’re aware of it because it means the same to us.”
So often they were only watching other nations making finals.
England’s first was the men winning the 1966 World Cup.
England v Spain: All you need to know
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Lionesses ‘know what win would mean to nation’
Then, with the rebirth of women’s football after bans and neglect, it was the Lionesses’ turn to make it to the finals – in 1984 and 2009.
And the Three Lions had to wait until 2021 to make it to a final, losing to Italy on penalties at Wembley.
It kickstarted an incredible run of five successive years of finals for England senior teams – with another men’s Euros final defeat in 2024.
The Lionesses have led the way, bringing football home by defeating Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley.
They just missed out on going one better when reaching a first Women’s World Cup final a year later.
England manager Sarina Wiegman reacts to defeat against Spain at the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. Pic: Reuters
Lauren James looks dejected after their World Cup defeat, but is confirmed fit for Sunday’s revenge match against Spain. Pic: Reuters
Now, in Basel, comes the chance for revenge against Spain – even though no one in the England camp is saying that, publicly at least, in Switzerland.
Especially knowing how challenging a task it is coming up again against Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putella – the recent winners of football’s biggest individual honours.
England fans celebrating after England beat Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Given England’s history against Spain, it could be a nerve-wracking time for England fans. File pic: Action Images/Reuters
But this is Spain’s first Euros final.
And there is some fear from the world champions at England’s grit and resolve to produce comebacks late in the quarter-finals and semi-finals – with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang’s goals integral to the fightbacks.
England celebrate their semi-final win against Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Michelle Agyemang has propelled England to the Euro 2025 final with two vital goals. Pic: AP
Spain captain Irene Paredes reflected yesterday on how the Lionesses can flip a result late on.
But she was also discussing how their World Cup win was tarnished by the on-pitch kiss that led to former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales being convicted of a sexual assault on striker Jenni Hermoso.
It sparked a wider clamour in Spain for improved rights and respect for women.
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“Since then [2023] we took big steps forward,” Paredes said.
“I think this idea is disappearing from society. I still believe we have to continue opening doors… we’re a reference for boys and girls in society, but we still have things to do.”
It is a reminder that while tonight is about collecting silverware, both England and Spain know that emerging as champions can drive further growth in women’s football back home.
Amid it all, they’ll try to savour just what reaching a final means and how rare they are – until recently for English and Spanish women.
A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke – after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product.
Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections.
She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of “Botox”.
Nicola Fairley
“Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze,” Nicola says.
“At first I thought ‘amazing’, that’s what I wanted – then it just carried on.”
Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms.
Doctors were stumped. “They thought I’d had a stroke,” she says.
“We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room.”
Doctors were worried Nicola could choke after she was injected with a suspected illegal product
It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin.
Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products.
Botulism – the disease they caused – is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.
It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly.
The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more.
The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more.
The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well.
There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK – of which Botox is one.
But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training.
Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available.
Dr Steven Land
‘It’s the Wild West’
Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics.
He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years.
“It’s the Wild West,” Dr Land told Sky News.
“Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what’s not legal, what is okay to be injected.
“These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison – there could be anything in there.”
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Dr Land showed us messages that he says he gets on a weekly basis, from sellers trying to push him cheap, unlicensed products.
They advertise “limited time offers” and cheap bundles on toxins imported from overseas. He calls them “drug dealers”.
“They are preying on the lack of knowledge among non-medical practitioners,” he says.
Consultations on how to regulate the aesthetics industry have been ongoing for years – but so far, no changes have been introduced.
The UK government now says it does plan to regulate certain procedures, but it’s not said how it will do this, or when.
“What will it take?” Nicola says. “One of the women we were with did almost die – she had to be resuscitated.”
Nicola’s beautician has stopped responding to her messages, so she says she still has no idea what the product was “or how much of it is in me”.
She doesn’t know how long her symptoms will last, but just hopes she will eventually recover.
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