Russia has launched over 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Thursday.
Guided, or glide, bombs are highly destructive and very hard to intercept. The air-launched weapons are conventional, often Soviet-era ordnance that have been fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation to extend their range and precision.
They are cheaper than ballistic and cruise missiles that Russia also regularly fires at Ukraine, and more abundant.
Their destructive power means they can ravage even strongly fortified Ukrainian defensive positions, which have been steadily crumbling in parts of the east in recent months.
In 2024 Russia used some 40,000 guided bombs in Ukraine, the air force said in its statement on social media.
Regions in proximity to the frontlines as well as those bordering Russia are most regularly targeted with these weapons, Ukrainian officials say.
On Wednesday Russia fired two such bombs at a residential area in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 13 people and injuring 113 in the deadliest attack so far this year, officials said.
On Thursday a guided bomb strike on residential buildings in the southern city of Kherson injured at least six people.
Ukrainian authorities say the most effective way to counteract guided bombs attacks is to target the warplanes carrying them and the airfields where they are stationed.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies to provide 10-12 more Patriot air defence systems that he says will fully protect its skies. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has consistently asked its allies to supply more advanced air defence systems.
Late last year Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was attempting to develop new types of air defence systems to counter “new risks” following Russia’s deployment of the new medium-range Oreshnik missile in the conflict nearing the three-year mark.
The Kremlin said the firing of the Oreshnik was a warning to the West against taking further “reckless” actions and decisions in support of Ukraine.
The Oreshnik missile was fired with conventional, not nuclear warheads. Putin said it was not a strategic nuclear weapon but its striking power and accuracy meant that its impact would be comparable, “especially when used in a massive group and in combination with other high-precision long-range systems”.
The Oreshnik missile was said to have been fired in response to Ukraine firing U.S.-made ATACMS deep inside Russian territory by Ukraine.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
