The Russian military is apparently relying on a new super-heavy bomb in its offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine. “Given the significant destructive effect of this explosive device, the operation can be described as successful,” the state news agency Tass quoted pro-Kremlin military analyst Igor Korotschenko as saying on Friday.
He said that the advance could be successful if the missiles were used against the most important infrastructure facilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. According to media reports, a hospital was bombed in the first attack.
The images published by Russian military bloggers show the enormous impact of the explosions. Two operations have been documented so far. After the first bombing of a hospital in Lypzi on Thursday, a second bomb destroyed a school building in the same town on Friday. The Russian military claims that soldiers were there, meaning that they were military targets.
The FAB-3000 glide bomb dropped from aircraft weighs three tons, with the warhead alone weighing around 1,200 kilograms. Since the bomb can be guided to its target thanks to its wings, it can be dropped from a distance of more than 30 kilometers. Russian pilots therefore usually release the bombs over Russian territory. This is another reason why Kiev has repeatedly called for the ability to attack military targets over Russian territory with Western weapons, in addition to increased air defense.
After annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia also annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson in September 2022. However, parts of these areas are still defended by the Ukrainian army.