(Dan Tri) – To deal with Russia’s glide bombs, Ukraine seeks to shoot down Russian planes carrying these bombs or raid deep into Russian territory to destroy them on the ground.
Russian Su-34 aircraft (Illustration photo: Reuters).
Last week, Ukraine carried out its deepest raid ever on Russian territory, targeting a base hosting Russian bombers.
This is part of Ukraine’s campaign to raid various areas within Russia, including Saratov, Kursk and Belgorod.
A Ukrainian law enforcement official told Politico that `the attack on the Morozovsk base was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine together with the army and defense forces.
`At least six (Russian) fighter-bombers were destroyed,` the official said, adding that eight other Moscow military aircraft were also seriously damaged.
According to some reports, Ukraine’s raid destroyed several Russian Su-34 Fullback bombers.
Russia has increased its use of glide bombs in Ukraine recently.
Glider bombs are large long-range weapons.
That feature allows Russian aircraft to fly at a relatively safe distance from Ukrainian air defense forces.
Russia has been using this weapon since last year and has increased its use in recent months.
Ukrainian officials said that in just 6 days from March 18 to March 24, Russia dropped about 700 hover bombs on Ukraine.
`Russia is increasingly using this advantage on the battlefield,` said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
He emphasized that `the only real way to deal with these Russian attacks is to shoot down glider bombers, but requires Ukraine to have a sufficient number of modern air defense systems on the front.`
Ukraine’s air defense network is spread thinly across frontline defense areas, civilian centers as well as energy and military infrastructure.
As Russia increases the scale, number and intensity of its attacks, including the use of a variety of missiles and drones, Ukraine is forced to prioritize the defense of certain targets.
This could lead to some regions, such as Kharkov, being heavily attacked in recent weeks.
As Russian airstrikes pile up and US military aid remains tied up in Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sounds the alarm about the country’s military being severely depleted of ammunition and systems.
In an interview on April 6, he said that Ukraine currently needs 25 Patriot air defense complexes to protect important infrastructure against Russian attacks.
According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), if the West continues to delay aid, Ukraine will be forced to make difficult decisions about prioritizing defense rather than preparing for a counterattack.
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