Russian forces continue to unintentionally drop Soviet-era FAB-3000 bombs on Belgorod region
Russian bombers are reportedly dropping heavy bombs on the Belgorod region. In the past two days, five different types of munitions have been found, including a three-tonne "FAB-3000." , reports the Russian Telegram channel Baza.
According to the Telegram channel "Astra", the situation is even worse. Russian forces have dropped nine FAB bombs and one R-77 missile on the Belgorod region over the past four days.
Five houses have been damaged.
On Friday morning, 28 June, an unexploded FAB-1500 bomb weighing one-and-a-half tonnes was discovered a few kilometres from the village of Krutoy Log. Shortly after, another FAB-500 bomb, weighing 500 kilograms, was found near the same settlement.
Additionally, two FAB-500 bombs were discovered in Shebekinsky urban district. Later parts of a three-tonne FAB-3000 bomb were found near the village of Maslova Pristan.
Sources from the ASTRA Telegram channel also reported that on 25 June, FAB bombs were found at the Belorechye hunting base in the Shebekinsky district, in the village of Krutoy Log, and near the village of Pristen.
Baza noted that "the reasons for the appearance of these aviation munitions are being investigated." However, this is not the first incident where Russian aircraft striking Ukraine's Kharkiv region have dropped bombs on the Belgorod region of Russia.
ASTRA has also revealed that the total number of bombs dropped by Russia on its own and temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories has reached at least 110 units over the past four months.
The high number of such incidents has been attributed to non-standard wear and tear on modified Russian air bombs equipped with flight and correction modules, or other technical malfunctions or crew errors. The bombs' impacts in this area are due to the heavy traffic of tactical aviation flights over the region.
The FAB-3000 is a three-tonne high-explosive bomb developed during the Soviet era, measuring over three meters in length. It contains 1.4 tonnes of explosive material and is capable of destroying well-fortified positions, command posts, particularly those underground, dams, and industrial facilities. The blast radius can affect personnel up to 300 meters away. Initially, it could be deployed from heavy bombers such as the Tu-22M3. However, currently the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Su-34 jets can also carry these bombs. Russia announced in early 2024 that it had resumed mass production of these aerial bombs.