In a few weeks, the Russian army attacked at least ten false targets - wooden dummies of HIMARS installations - with expensive Kalibr missiles.
This was reported by The Washington Post.
Ukrainian false targets are made of wood, but they are indistinguishable from an artillery battery through the lens of Russian drones that transmit the location of Ukrainian equipment to cruise missile carriers in the Black Sea.
Statements by the Russian side regarding the destruction of Ukrainian HIMARS may be related to this.
"They claimed to have destroyed more HIMARS than we even sent," the American diplomat noted.
Military experts stress that such deceptive tactics are forcing the Russian army to move ammunition depots and command posts deeper into the rear.
In addition, Russia spends its stockpile of high-precision missiles, which will be difficult to replenish due to the lack of microchips, to destroy deceptive targets shot down from trees.
The initial success with deception of missile targeting prompted the Armed Forces to expand the production of replicas.