This year, Russia dropped more than 3,500 bombs on Ukrainian positions – Ministry of Defense

18 March, 2024 A Russian bomb with a UMPK kit under the wing of a Su-34 front-line bomber Since the beginning of 2024, the combat aviation of the Russian Federation has dropped more than 3,500 bombs on the positions of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. This was announced in an article of Ukrinform by Deputy Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Ivan Havriliuk.

According to him, this number is even more than the same period last year. The Deputy Minister stressed that enemy aviation actively used guided bombs against Ukrainian positions on the border and frontline areas. He noted that only since the beginning of this year (for 77 days), Russian aviation had dropped more than 3,500 bombs on Ukrainian positions, which was 16 times more than last year.

????????? ????????? ?????????? ??????????? ????????? ????-250 ?????????? ??????? ????????? ????, ????????, 3 ?????
/p
p2024 ????.????? ????????? ????, ????????, 3 ?????
/p
p2024 ????.

Russian OFAB-250 bomb, equipped with the UMPK kit, Belgorod, January 3, 2024

According to Lieutenant General, F-16 fighters have to turn the dominance of Russians in the air war, which will increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the ground.

F-16 fighter in Denmark. February 2024. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

But now, according to him, the situation is such that there are no F-16 yet, and the stocks of ammunition of certain nomenclatures are falling to a critical level.

"These and other factors make it difficult for the Defense Forces of Ukraine to perform tasks to repel the aggressor," Havriliuk said. At the same time, he stressed that there were high expectations for the adoption of important decisions for Ukraine on the provision of new packages of military aid from allies.

Danger from Russian aerial bombs

Since the beginning of 2023, Russians began to use guided bombs equipped with UMPK (unified gliding and correction module - ed.) kits.

????????? ????????? ? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???????????????? ??-34.

A Russian bomb with a UMPK kit under the wing of a Su-34 bomber

This kit converts conventional "dumb bombs" into precision-guided munitions. Also, due to the wings that open after ascending from the hardpoint, the range of the bomb increases to tens of kilometers.

Initially, Russians turned into adjusted 250 and 500-kilogram bombs. However, today they already equip such modules with FAB-1500 and RBK-500.

Russian FAB-1500-M54 bomb with UMPK kit, January 12, 2024

The Russian bombers and fighters can drop their bombs at a distance of 40-50 km from the front line. Under such conditions, today enemy aircraft are almost invulnerable to Ukrainian air defense or fighter aircraft.

This is a problem that requires a systemic solution.