Ukrainian defence strained by increasing use of Russian glide bombs

Ukrainians fighting to maintain Pokrowsk have to deal not only with the Russians' numerical superiority but also with deadly glide bombs. Fortunately, their quality leaves much to be desired, and some are defective. We explain why they pose such a huge threat.

After losing Avdiivka and experiencing a breach of defence near the village of Ocheretyne, the Ukrainians managed to stop the Russians before reaching Pokrowsk. Unfortunately, due to the massive use of FAB-guided aerial bombs along with UMPK modules, the Russians have made quite significant advances in this direction.

It is worth noting that the tactic is very simple. It involves not counting losses and sending assault groups to a given area to activate Ukrainian defence. Then, on such strong points, several hundred-kilogram bombs are dropped, and the tactic is repeated until successful. For this reason, such attacks have been called "meat assaults."

Below, you can see the picture of a 500-kilogram FAB bomb that pierced several walls of a building occupied by Ukrainians somewhere in Pokrowsk but did not explode. They were incredibly lucky compared to many other Ukrainian soldiers whom these bombs have killed.

These bombs, along with ballistic missiles, are a huge problem for Ukraine because they allow the Russians to destroy even the heaviest Ukrainian fortifications. The base for this weapon is old aerial bombs dating back to World War II, to which satellite and inertial navigation modules along with foldable wings similar to American JDAM-ER bombs have been added.

For the Russians, such a module is called UMPK (Unified Module Set for Planning and Correction) and can be used with FAB-500, FAB-1500, and the powerful FAB-3000.

The designations refer to the bomb's weight, so FAB-500 means a 500-kilogram bomb containing a charge of up to 660 pounds of TNT. The rest of the weight is a cast steel shell that generates fragments upon explosion and a simple impact fuse.

The main problem for Ukrainians is that Russian planes can drop such bombs from over 25 miles away, which places them out of the range of short-range air defence systems. Moreover, destroying bombs in flight is difficult due to their speed and thick casing. Fragments of typical anti-aircraft missiles are too weak, and perhaps systems like the Gepard or Skynex, loaded with anti-armour ammunition, would be helpful.

However, such defences would have to be deployed at every trench, which is unfeasible; therefore, the best way is to shoot down Russian planes before they drop these bombs from distances like 60 miles. This is achievable with medium-range systems like Patriot, SAMP/T, or S-300, for which Ukraine no longer has missiles or its air force.

Ukraine has not received the necessary number of such systems or aircraft from Western countries, and what is available is used to protect critical infrastructure, leaving frontline regions under-defended.