24 December 2023
The explosion of a shell inside the barrel caused the destruction of the cannon – the severed barrel lies nearby.
In the Kherson region, two Russian D-30 howitzers had a shell burst in their barrel.
Photos of the incident appeared on social networks. Published photographs show that the howitzer barrels were completely destroyed. According to the Russian military, the cause of the shell explosion was wear of the barrel. The published footage, filmed by the Russian military on a mobile phone camera, shows one of the 122 mm guns.
The explosion of a shell inside the barrel caused the destruction of the cannon – the severed barrel lies nearby. Reliable information about the death and injury of Russian military personnel has not yet been reported.
The culprits of the explosion were shells from the OF99-1 batch.
This is not the first time a shell has exploded in the barrel of a Russian artillery gun during military operations in Ukraine. Earlier, a Chinese shell tore apart a Russian self-propelled gun; the operator of the installation was seriously wounded and had his leg amputated.
The explosion of a shell in the barrel of a D-30 howitzer is a serious incident that can lead to the death of personnel. This indicates that Russian troops are experiencing serious problems with the provision of ammunition and maintenance of their equipment.
Earlier, a Russian soldier of the 136th Mechanized Infantry Brigade had his leg torn off when a Chinese shell exploded in the barrel of a self-propelled gun near Rabotino.
It seems that we’ve already read a report of at least one of those two incidents mentioned above. There are some new details, however. They say they are chinese shells, but there is Cyrillic writing on them. Okay, they might’ve been put on after delivery. But, from whom is this ammo? China? North korea? Anyway, a closer look at the shells reveals shoddy workmanship on their surfaces. Furthermore, the rotating bands are painted. This might increase fouling of the rifling in the barrels. No doubt, the worn barrels will also cause all sorts of problems. The more worn a barrel is, the less accurate it can fire, and those pieces were never that accurate to begin with. Combine this with poor ammo and not-so-well trained orcs, and the results in any shelling of the enemy becomes predicable.