As a result of a strike by the Russian Aerospace Forces on the location of the nationalist formation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Kraken”, up to 300 militants were destroyed.

This was reported to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting at the headquarters of the joint group of forces.

According to the group's chief of staff, Colonel-General Alexei Kim, as a result of the airstrike, in addition to the Kraken base, the nearby fuel and lubricants warehouse and the building housing the Czech multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) Vampire were also hit.

“We did additional reconnaissance - (the fuel and lubricants warehouse and Vampire. -

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) is still burning,” Kim emphasized.

The chief of staff added that the strike was carried out by a one and a half ton volumetric detonating aerial bomb - ODAB-1500.

The Minister of Defense was also shown footage of objective monitoring of the destruction of military equipment and enemy personnel.  

“Comparable to a nuclear weapon”

A volumetric detonating aerial bomb is sometimes also called a vacuum bomb, since when it is used, an environment close to a vacuum is created at the epicenter of the explosion.

  • The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation inspected the joint group of troops

This projectile sprays an explosive substance into the affected area, which mixes with oxygen.

The resulting aerosol cloud is ignited using a detonator.

As a result, a supersonic shock wave and high temperatures are formed at the bomb release site, which cause the main damage to the attacked target.

“The peculiarity of volumetric detonating bombs is that they use liquid as an explosive, which is sprayed and set on fire.

This terrible weapon burns everything around it, the metal melts from their impact.

The operation of the “Solntsepek” and “Tosochka” flamethrower systems is also based on this principle,” military observer retired colonel Viktor Litovkin explained in a commentary to RT.

He emphasized that such weapons not only have great destructive power, but also have a demoralizing effect on the enemy.

“Not only does ODAB effectively destroy troops and equipment, it also has a moral and psychological effect and scares people.

The use of such a bomb demotivates militants to fight an enemy who is armed with such powerful weapons,” says Viktor Litovkin.

In addition to the one and a half ton ODAB, the Russian Armed Forces use the ODAB-500 weighing 0.5 tons. One of its most modern versions is designated ODAB-500PMV.

As noted on the website of the Rostec state corporation, such ammunition is capable of hitting industrial structures, vulnerable equipment, and manpower.

In addition, it can be used to clear anti-personnel and anti-tank minefields.

“Intended (bomb. -

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) for all-altitude use from both front-line aircraft and helicopters.

It is especially effective when used in mountain conditions,” says the company’s materials.

It is worth noting that in 2007, the Russian Ministry of Defense released footage of tests of a high-power volumetric detonating aerial bomb.

This experimental projectile does not have an official name, but in the media it is referred to as ODAB-9000 or “daddy of all bombs” (by analogy with the American “mother of all bombs” MOAB/B).

The ammunition was dropped from a Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber.

As the then Deputy Chief of the General Staff Alexander Rukshin noted, the test results showed that this projectile “in its effectiveness and capabilities is comparable to a nuclear weapon.”

“At the same time (I especially want to emphasize this) the effect of this ammunition does not pollute the environment at all compared to nuclear weapons,” Rukshin said.

A Channel One report in 2007 noted that the Russian aerial bomb was significantly superior to the American MOAB/B, which was tested four years earlier and was previously considered the most powerful non-nuclear weapon.

In particular, the mass of the ODAB-9000 explosive is less, but the bomb itself is four times more powerful.

In addition, the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion of the Russian design is twice as high as that of the American one.

In terms of total affected area, the “daddy of all bombs” is 20 times larger than an overseas projectile.

At the moment, there is no publicly available information about the use of ODAB-9000 in combat conditions.

There is no "antidote"

As analysts note, Russian troops actively use other large-caliber aerial bombs during the SVO, in particular FAB high-explosive shells and RBK cluster bombs.

“We have a lot of high-caliber ammunition.

When such a bomb hits a position, it destroys everything.

You can imagine the losses the enemy suffered in this case.

The West is sounding the alarm about this, since there is no “antidote” to such weapons,” military expert Alexander Khrolenko emphasized in a conversation with RT.

It is worth noting that the Western media have recently really paid attention to the Russian Federation’s use of aerial bombs with UMPC.

In particular, CNN reported that the Russian FAB-1500 bomb changed the balance of power in the conflict and played an important role during the liberation of Avdiivka.

According to retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk, the use of Russian aerial bombs with the UMPC unit makes it possible to accurately hit targets and save ammunition.

“Firstly, thanks to the accuracy of these shells, we save our ammunition.

Secondly, we hit those objects on which the enemy’s defense depends, which contributes to the advancement of the Russian Armed Forces,” the specialist explained in a conversation with RT.

"Effective work"

During a meeting at the headquarters of the joint group of troops, Alexey Kim also reported to Sergei Shoigu that over the past week, three American Patriot systems, a Vampire MLRS combat vehicle, a German Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery mount (SPG), and more than ten foreign-made artillery systems were neutralized in the Northern Military District zone. and warehouses for fuel, lubricants and ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to Kim, the enemy is suffering significant losses both in equipment and manpower as a result of the use of high-precision weapons by the Russian Armed Forces, including attack unmanned aerial vehicles.

Such results were achieved thanks to the “effective operation of reconnaissance and strike systems” of the Russian Armed Forces, as indicated in the release of the Ministry of Defense.

Experts believe that the increase in the effectiveness of strikes against Western equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indicates that the Russian Ministry of Defense was able to significantly reduce the time from detecting a target to making a decision to destroy it.

“Now the troops have accelerated the operational implementation of data received about the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As a result, the Russian army created such conditions for the enemy that he was spinning like a frying pan,” Matviychuk concluded.