By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- Ukraine looks for ways to counter the threat of destructive guided bombs launched by Russia and the first confirmed interception of such a bomb offers glimpses of hope.
Thousands of cheap and destructive bombs, weighing at least 250 kg and launched by Russian planes from out of the reach of Ukrainian air defenses, have been key to Russia’s progress on the battlefield.
“The Russians continue to use the bombs to destroy our military defenses and to terrorize the civilians behind the frontline,” Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military observer at the Information Resistance Group, told EFE.
According to the Ukrainian army, Russian aviation dropped 40,000 bombs in 2024 alone. And while that number dropped to around 2,500 in December, it rose to around 4,000 in January and at least 1,750 by February.
Glimpses of hope
Few defenses or civilian buildings can withstand a direct hit from the bomb. At present, it is their lack of precision that offers the best hope for the Ukrainians targeted.
Radars can detect incoming bombs, but intercepting them was considered technologically and financially unfeasible, especially given the lack of modern equipment in Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian soldiers managed to shoot down a guided aerial bomb in Zaporizhia, Air Force’s representative Yuriy Ignat confirmed for the first time to Ukraine’s RBC-Ukraine, an online media, on Friday.
While Ignat has not revealed any details about the equipment used, he noted that this has not been the first time a bomb has been intercepted.
Ukraine has strengthened its ability to counter and destroy guided bombs against Russia by using modern hardware and software equipment and electronic warfare, Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Saturday.
The method developed in Ukraine, has proved “effective” and will be used more often, “Soniashnyk,” a Telegram channel with links to the country’s Air Force, claimed.
The interception of such a bomb is a unique occurrence on a global scale, according to Kovalenko. If this experience can be scaled up efficiently and cheaply, this could partially solve the problem of bombs, the expert noted.
Destroying Russian planes remains crucial for Ukraine
However, destroying Russia’s planes that launch the bombs, either in the sky or on their bases, remains the most effective way of reducing the threat, the expert said.
In 2024, Ukraine already used several Patriot air-defense launchers to intercept several Su-34 and Su-35 planes in a series of surprise attacks.
However, it no longer uses the few systems at its disposal so close to the frontline, where they become targets for Russian drones and missiles.
Meanwhile, the F-16 fighter jets at Ukraine’s disposal have not received the weapons needed to shoot down Russia’s bombardiers from a safe distance, according to experts.
Russia has also moved its aircraft away from bases within range of modern missiles such as ATACMS, Kovalenko noted.
Ukraine regularly attacks Russian air bases with drones and works on their improvement. However, Russian pilots are constantly on alert, which gives them enough time to fly the planes away from danger after the drones are detected, the expert explained.
A decisive solution out of reach
According to Kovalenko, Ukraine could reach some airfields where Su-34/35 planes are based with ATACMS missiles by moving their launchers closer to the frontline, but this would be extremely risky.
It has used drones to damage storages of bombs and aviation fuel, as well as refineries, yet the impact has been limited so far.
What could help is ballistic missiles, which carry more explosives than drones and travel much faster, according to Kovalenko.
However, Ukraine does not receive such missiles from its allies.
It is also unclear when it will be able to deploy its own ballistic missiles, currently under development, making the interception of a bomb in Zaporizhia all the more important. EFE
ra/dgp
