Project Sword
The New York Times, citing Kyiv forces, reported on Monday that the Russian military is increasingly using "gliding bombs" to destroy Ukraine's strong fortifications, some of which date back to 2014, when hostilities first broke out in the Donbas.
Ukrainian front-line soldiers told the newspaper that while they have become accustomed to constant artillery fire, they have also suffered from gliding bombs dropped by Russian warplanes since this spring. They added that these ** contain up to half a ton of explosives and are capable of destroying underground bunkers in Ukraine.
While it's unclear what type of bomb he's referring to, in recent weeks, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that Russia has deployed FAB-500 bombs equipped with gliding and correction modules to counter Ukraine's defenses. Russian military experts and the West estimate that the range of these bombs is about 40 kilometers, although this figure may vary.
A Ukrainian soldier told The New York Times that he compared the gliding bomb attack to him.
In May of this year, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat admitted in an interview with The Telegraph that gliding bombs are a cheaper ** than various rockets. He said.
Ukrainian servicemen told The New York Times that this is close to the front line. They noted that Moscow's forces now also make extensive use of first-person view (FPV) drones to hunt down targets or coordinate artillery strikes. This has seriously hampered the mobility of the Ukrainian army, which is now mainly on foot or hiding in shelters, the newspaper said.
Kyiv soldiers claimed they were the first to start using this tactic, but Russia soon followed suit. A service member told **. He complained that, by contrast, Ukraine had to rely on donated projects and urged Kyiv to step up efforts in this regard.