Over 100 Russian soldiers killed in Volnovakha attack: GMLRS rockets hits
Ukrainians launched an attack on the 39th Independent Motorized Brigade of the Guard's training ground, positioned in the town of Volnovakha. This locale is roughly 37 miles away from Marinka, also found in the Donetsk region. The Russian soldiers present, who were awaiting the inspection by General Oleg Moiseyev in charge of the 29th Army, were the victims of this assault.
While initial reports cited 65 fatalities, the eventual death toll has risen to exceed 100. The attack was executed using several GMLRS rockets, explicitly the M30A1 variant with an Alternative Warhead. Evidence for this comes from recordings of the assault and the specific injuries discovered on the Russian soldiers.
GMLRS M30A1 rockets cause a lethal rain of tungsten balls
The M30A1 rockets were produced as a result of American aspirations to procure precise area weapons. They share similarities with cluster munitions but lack their associated drawbacks, such as unexploded ordnance and humanitarian controversies.
The Alternative Warhead (AW) is engineered for the broad-spectrum elimination of lightly armored vehicles or enemy infantry. It houses a payload of exactly 182,000 tungsten balls. The igniter is configured to set off an airburst, effecting a lethal cascade, eradicating all targets within its deadly radius. Each tungsten ball's energy compares to a bullet fired from a rifle such as the AKM or AK-74, which have hardened steel cores.
This setup permits penetration of current helmets or bulletproof vests that rely solely on kevlar inserts. While the deployment of steel or ceramic plates does offer adequate protection, it's impossible to protect every body part with such hard ballistics.
From a practical perspective, this signifies that there's no effective defense against an AW warhead in an exposed terrain, other than taking cover in a dugout or inside a nearby armored vehicle like a BTR armored personnel carrier or a BMP infantry fighting vehicle.
