Ukraine uses custom-built ‘mini-Grads’

STORY: Ukraine calls this the ‘mini-Grad.’

It’s basically a pick-up truck outfitted with rocket launchers…

…using pipes from the larger, Soviet-designed BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher developed in the 1960s.

Ukraine’s army says this video shows its impact.

It’s not as accurate as the advanced HIMARS rocket systems Kyiv has received from the U.S.

But members of this Ukrainian brigade working in the Zaporizhzhia region say the mini-Grad’s advantage is that it’s nimble.

“There are two operating modes. The small mode is 7 feet and the large mode is 70. It allows the rocket to detonate above the ground, inflicting more shrapnel damage to infantry and light armoured vehicles.”

This volunteer builder says fewer rockets means the mini-Grad can zip around more easily.

Military analyst Oleksandr Musiyenko says this kind of weaponry is an advantage for units that wouldn’t normally have this kind of gear.

He adds that units also don’t need to wait to get artillery from somewhere else.

The use of the mini-Grad is happening during Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russia, which began in June.

Armed with Western tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, Ukraine has retaken a string of villages but no larger settlements.

Still, a senior Ukrainian official suggested on Tuesday the country has made progress simply by proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy.