Russian troops have used a massive FAB-1500 bomb to strike Ukrainian positions in the Donbass town of Seversk, several Telegram channels have reported, citing a video circulating on social media. The footage showed Ukrainian troops taking up positions in multistory buildings in the town, some 15km from the conflict frontline, before being targeted with the 1.5-tonne projectile.
The clip first shows what appears to be a group of Ukrainian servicemen walking between partially damaged buildings before a projectile hits the area causing a powerful explosion. The video ends with the buildings appearing to be partially destroyed and engulfed in flames.
Multiple Telegram channels identified the projectile used in the strike as a Russian high-explosive FAB-1500 bomb, weighing around 1.5 tons. Such projectiles are used to destroy defenses or fortifications, as well as military industrial facilities.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not confirmed the strike or commented on the videos published on social media. Earlier in May, Ukrainian officials compared the explosion produced by a FAB-1500 bomb to an “earthquake” when it was used against Ukrainian defenses in the northeastern Kharkov Region.
In March, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that production of FAB-1500 bombs and a smaller version of the weapon had increased “manyfold.” The bombs have been widely reported to have been used as gliding high-precision projectiles.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue their offensive in Donbass and the Kharkov Region. The operation in northeastern Ukraine was launched in early May in response to repeated Ukrainian strikes targeting civilian infrastructure in Russia’s border regions. One strike killed 19 people in Belgorod Region in just one day earlier this month.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin stated that the shelling of residential areas is pushing Moscow to create a buffer zone along the border with Ukraine. “If this continues, we will be forced to create a security zone. This is what we are doing,” he said at the time.
Russian troops have made steady gains in recent weeks, pushing Ukrainian forces out of numerous settlements both in Donbass and Kharkov Region. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the village of Klescheevka had been captured, thus giving Russian forces control over strategically important high ground in Donbass.