The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday released video footage of what it claims is an airstrike with an ODAB-1500 bomb on a Ukrainian temporary deployment point near the town of Kupyansk in Kharkov Region.
The thermobaric munition, colloquially known as the ‘vacuum bomb,’ apparently scored a direct hit on a building that houses Ukrainian forces, surveillance drone footage released by the military shows. The building, apparently located at a secluded agricultural site, was completely destroyed in the massive blast.
Up to 40 “Ukrainian militants” and five military vehicles were destroyed in the strike, according to Russian Defense Ministry estimated.
The aerial munition was apparently fitted with a Universal Correction and Guidance Module (UMPK). Over the course of the conflict, Russia has increasingly used the winged upgrade kits for older free-fall bombs, which turn such munitions into high-precision weaponry.
The UMPKs were initially used with smaller high-explosive bombs such as FAB-250 or FAB-500, and the upgrade kits have ultimately made them into specialized munitions, including thermobaric ODAB-1500 and cluster RBK-500 bombs. This year, the kits were adapted to larger munitions, with the repeated use of massive, three-ton, high-explosive FAB-3000 bombs fitted with UMPKs observed from mid-June.