Russia drops new deadly glide bomb as hopes for Ukraine ceasefire snag

Kremlin-approved Russian military bloggers, cited by international media over the last week, have claimed that Russia has begun tests on a new 3000 kg glide bomb, also known as the FAB-3000.

Fighter Bomber, a recognized military blogger, claimed the new bomb was twice as heavy and twice as destructive than earlier models.

The FAB-3000 reportedly packs nearly a ton and a half of explosives, according to the Independent. It is a modified munition inspired by early designs used in the Soviet era. 

Early designs of the FAB-3000, known as the FAB-500 and the FAB-1500, saw soviet munitions retrofitted with fixed wings and a GPS navigation system advanced enough to reach beyond Ukrainian anti-air defenses.

Russian bloggers shared footage of the munition in use on a building located in the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.

Aid workers have reported that bomb shelters have been rendered useless, according to the Independent, and estimates on civilian deaths resulting from the bomb range from hundreds to the thousands.

“If a glide bomb hits then you’ve just got no hope,” Ada Wordsworth, who runs a charity rebuilding homes in the wider Kharkiv region, told the Independent. “The destruction is so massive. It’s a weird kind of psychological torture [to face them].”

Ukrainian authorities have not yet confirmed how serious a threat the bomb is, stating the fragments haven’t yet reached investigators. Natalia Nestor, deputy director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise said that they had not yet received any evidence of the FAB-3000.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the weapon had a high potential for destruction. It reportedly caused substantial damage to its target, despite landing 10 meters away - indicating that the weapon’s capacity for collateral damage is great.

Russian forces used the new FAB-3000 M-54 bomb with a unified planning and correction module (UMPC) to strike Ukrainian positions in Kharkiv Oblast for the first time, representing a new Russian capability with a high potential for destruction if Russian forces continue to be… https://t.co/scxxOV5caI pic.twitter.com/z5gLmbvTrg

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) June 21, 2024

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed in March that it had begun mass production of FAB-3000 aerial bombs, according to the Kyiv Independent. However, the information could not be verified by Ukraine or its allies.

When will the Russian invasion of Ukraine end?

Ukraine has a clear understanding that any plan to end the war with Russia should be based on international law and the peace should be fair, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Tuesday.

Commenting on a peace plan for Ukraine presented by two key advisers to former US president Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election in November, Podolyak told Reuters that the war could not end without bringing Russia to account.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the advisers presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Ukraine - if he wins the presidential election - that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters into peace talks.

Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine - if he wins the presidential election - that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters into peace talks.

The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would result in increased US support for Ukraine, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, one of Trump's national security advisers, said in an interview.

Podolyak said that to freeze the war, which is now in its 28th month, at the current frontlines would be "strange" as Russia had violated international law and was on Ukrainian territory.

"Ukraine has an absolutely clear understanding and it is spelled out in the peace formula proposed by President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, it is clearly stated there - peace can only be fair and peace can only be based on international law," he said in an online interview.

Podolyak also reiterated the Ukrainian position, dismissing ceasefire conditions announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin as absurd. Putin has said Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to hand over the entirety of four regions in the east and south claimed by Moscow.

"We see Putin's plan - it is absolutely ridiculous," Podolyak said.

Two weeks ago, world leaders gathered at a Swiss Alpine resort to seek broader consensus for Ukraine's peace proposals at a summit shunned by China and dismissed as a waste of time by Russia, which pushed its own rival ceasefire plans from afar.

More than 90 countries took part, but China's absence in particular dimmed hopes the summit would show Russia as globally isolated, while recent military reverses have put Kyiv on the back foot.

A draft of a final summit declaration, seen by Reuters, blames Russia's "war" in Ukraine for causing "large-scale human suffering and destruction" and urges Ukraine's territorial integrity to be respected.

The document, dated June 13, also calls for Kyiv to regain control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and access to its sea ports. The draft had deleted an earlier reference to Russian "aggression" where "war" is cited.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky trumpeted the summit's attendance as a success and predicted "history being made."

US President Joe Biden sent his deputy Kamala Harris to represent him - a decision that had riled Kyiv.

Harris announced more than $1.5 billion in energy and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, where infrastructure has been pounded by Russian airstrikes since the 2022 full-scale invasion.

On the eve of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would end the war if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over four provinces claimed by Moscow. The conditions apparently reflected Moscow's growing confidence its forces have the upper hand.

But they were swiftly rejected by Ukraine and its allies.

"He's calling for surrender," Harris said, adding: "Let nothing about the end of this war be decided without Ukraine."

"Freezing the conflict today, with foreign troops occupying Ukrainian land, is not the answer. It is a recipe for future wars of aggression," added European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.