The Russian military has dropped one of the most powerful bombs in its arsenal on a Ukrainian ammunition depot in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday as it published footage of the strike.
The target was a storage facility in the village of Razliv, according to a statement. The settlement lies around 23km west of Kurakhovo, a major logistics hub used by Kiev’s forces in the area. The village is also situated some 20km to the northeast of Velikaya Novoselka – a Donbass town turned into a fortress by Ukrainian troops.
A short clip published by the Russian ministry on Telegram shows a bomb being dropped on a cluster of buildings on the outskirts of the village. A massive explosion rocks the area, sending out thick plumes of grey smoke.
According to the ministry, a FAB-3000 bomb was dropped on the target. The FAB series was designed to destroy enemy defenses or fortifications as well as military industrial facilities. Their strong hull is capable of penetrating ceiling joists in multistory buildings while keeping the bomb relatively intact.
The FAB-3000 is one of the most powerful bomb types in the series, with just a few other models having higher destructive capacity. Weighing more than 3 tons, the bomb carries explosives equivalent to almost 1.4 tons of TNT.
This year, the Russian military started outfitting its larger bombs with the Universal Correction and Guidance Modules (UMPK). The winged upgrade kits were designed to turn older free-fall bombs into high-precision weaponry.
UMPKs were initially used with smaller high-explosive bombs such as the FAB-250 or FAB-500. The first FAB-3000 bombs fitted with UMPKs were employed in mid-June.
The video came as the Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed the liberation of the town of Ugledar, a strategically important position located on high round and featuring high-rise buildings overlooking the surrounding plain. Located some 40km to the southeast of Razliv, Ugledar has been the scene of fierce battles as Russian forces sought to take control over the town.