The Russian military has dropped one of the most powerful bombs in its arsenal on Ukrainian special operations units to devastating effect, according to media reports and a video circulating on social media.
On Friday, several Russian Telegram channels covering the Ukraine conflict posted a video purporting to show a strike using a three-ton high-explosive FAB-3000 bomb equipped with a guidance module in the frontline village of Liptsy in Kharkov Region.
The aerial footage shows a powerful explosion a dozen meters away from a large concrete building. The structure was not totally destroyed but appears to have sustained heavy damage.
Russian Telegram channels claimed, citing local sources, that the strike was aimed at a deployment area of one of the battalions of the 13th Separate Special Purpose Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard. Up to 70 Ukrainian service members were reportedly killed in the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to comment.
According to the Telegram channel LostArmour, the Ukrainian troops had occupied a building of a local school. Russian officials have repeatedly said that Ukrainian forces often seek shelter in civilian facilities. In the summer of 2022, this charge was echoed by Amnesty International, which said that Ukraine had “put civilians in harm's way by establishing bases… in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals.”
The same type of bomb was also reportedly used on Thursday to hit a three-story building, also in Liptsy, that was apparently being used by the Ukrainian military. According to the footage of that strike, the building was not hit directly but still sustained significant damage.
Russian military experts have said that FAB-3000 bombs pack a punch powerful enough to destroy even the strongest fortifications, and that new technology allows targets to be hit with high accuracy. Both Russian and Western experts have said that Russian guided bombs pose an extremely serious threat to Ukraine and are very difficult to intercept.
Russia launched an offensive in Kharkov Region in early May, capturing around a dozen of settlements. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the operation in the area is aimed at establishing a “cordon sanitaire” to protect Russian border regions from regular Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks, many of which have caused numerous civilian casualties.