The day before, the Defense Express portal, citing its own sources, reported that a few weeks ago, Russian troops used a new 1,500 kg UPAB-1500B guided aerial bomb against Ukraine for the first time. It was dropped off at a facility in the Chernihiv region.
The Russians adopted UPAB-1500B in 2019. It has a satellite navigation system and a warhead weighing 1,010 kg. The bomb is designed to destroy highly protected objects, it is dropped by planes 40 km from the target from a height of 14 km. This bomb causes more destruction than rockets.
Air Force Spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on the air of the telethon that Ukraine needs modern fighter jets and more Patriot air defense systems to protect against such aerial bombs — they can shoot down UPAB-1500V carriers, for example, with missiles with a range of more than 150 km.
Ignat also added that the Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber shot down on March 3 over Yenakiev was probably carrying such a bomb.