By KRIS @Adobe Stock
Abbey Fenbert of The Kyiv Independent reports that Russia has allegedly used its FAB-3000 aerial bomb for the first time. Fenbert writes:
The Russian military has allegedly attacked Kharkiv Oblast with a FAB-3000 high-explosive aerial bomb, Russian sources claimed on June 20.
A video shared by a pro-Kremlin blogger purports to show Russian bombers striking a Ukrainian military target in the village of Liptsy in Kharkiv Oblast.
The blogger, who reportedly has ties to the Russian Air Force, claims the footage records the first combat use of a FAB-3000 M-54 bomb with a universal planning and correction module (UMPK).
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims at the time of publication. […]
The June 20 video claims to show a FAB-3000 bomb striking the end of a building used by the Ukrainian army as a temporary deployment point (TDP). The post accompanying the video explains that the bomb did not succeed in making a direct hit on the target but still caused massive damage.
Ukraine cannot confirm that Russia used the bomb, Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash said in a comment for the Kyiv Independent.
Read more here.
David L. Stern and Serhii Korolchuk of the Washington Post report that since January, Russian glide bomb airstrikes across the front line have routinely exceeded 100 a day. They write:
Russia’s air force has dramatically boosted its effectiveness in the Ukraine war with its increased use of “glide bombs,” contributing to Moscow’s recent battlefield successes, according to Western experts.
The plentiful Soviet-era bombs, which carry up to a half-ton of explosives, have been fitted with wings and guidance systems to fly long distances with some accuracy — allowing the Russian jets that release them to operate away from Ukrainian antiaircraft systems.
Along with Russian drones, missiles and artillery, the glide bombs have added new destructive firepower to Russia’s campaign in eastern Ukraine, as seen in the recent conquest of the city of Avdiivka, Russia’s first major victory in nearly a year. […]
Since January, Russian airstrikes across the front line have routinely exceeded 100 a day, with nearly 160 occurring four days before Avdiivka fell, he said. […]
Russian forces are also increasing the use of glide bombs in the Kharkiv region, the area’s governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said on Ukrainian television Tuesday. Recently, in the town of Kupyansk, a guided bomb with cluster munitions was dropped for the first time, he said.
“If you take [the situation] 10 months ago, the enemy used guided aerial bombs quite rarely,” Synyehubov said. “Now it’s their priority.”
Read more here.
