Kiev’s forces in the town of Seversk were targeted with a 1.5-tonne aerial bomb
Russian troops recently struck Ukrainian positions in the Donbass town of Seversk with a massive FAB-1500 bomb, several Telegram channels have reported, citing a video taken at the scene. The footage posted to social media showed multistory buildings where Ukrainian troops had taken up positions being targeted with the 1.5-tonne projectile.
The clip, which is less than a minute long, first shows what appears to be a group of Ukrainian servicemen walking between partially damaged buildings before a projectile hits the area and causes a powerful explosion. The video ends with the buildings appearing to be partially destroyed and engulfed in flames.
Some Telegram channels identified the projectile used in the strike as a Russian high-explosive FAB-1500 bomb weighing around a ton and a half. Such projectiles are used to destroy defenses or fortifications, as well as military industrial facilities.
Other sources described the projectile as an air-fuel explosive bomb (ODAB). Such bombs have a dispersing charge that scatters fuel around a significant area when hitting a target. The fuel contained inside the bomb evaporates and mixes with air to form a gaseous cloud. A secondary charge is then activated, igniting the cloud and producing a massive explosion.
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 had doubled since the beginning of this year. Manufacturing of smaller FAB-500 bombs had also increased “manyfold,” it said. It has been widely reported that these bombs have been turned into gliding high-precision projectiles by being outfitted with what is called a universal gliding and correction module.