Russia’s Aerospace Forces, the VKS, have rained day by day destruction on Ukrainian cities since Putin unleashed his invasion in 2022. Large unguided bombs, supersonic weapons designed to kill aircraft carriers, and hypersonic glide vehicles intended to befuddle NATO air defenses have been lobbed at densely populated metropolises including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa.
But at 10:15 pm local time on Thursday, April 20, the mayhem landed on the mistaken side of the border, following what Russia’s defense ministry characterised as an “emergency release of air ordnance” from an Su-34 fighter bomber overflying Belgorod—a city of 370,000 only a 17-mile drive away from the Ukrainian border, and 35 miles northeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
Traffic cameras captured each the impact and detonation of the weapon, which is probably going a bomb. Initially, it’s seen penetrating into the bottom, causing a small puff of debris on the side of the road. Traffic continues to roll by unperturbed.
But 18 seconds later, the weapon detonates, causing the bottom underneath to bubble up, rupturing the encompassing concrete in a ball of fireplace and debris. A white automobile parked near the purpose of impact spins high into the air before landing onto the roof of a close-by store. Several other nearby vehicles are destroyed as well. The explosion left a 40-meter diameter (131 feet) crater within the traffic intersection.
A second bomb fell piercing like a spike through the side of an apartment constructing, fortunately without detonating.
Fortunately, there have been no deaths, though two women were injured. The primary bomb’s detonation beneath the bottom absorbed and channeled the blast’s force, reducing lethal shrapnel directed at vehicles driving relatively close by. After all, there was damage to nearby buildings, windows and powerlines were ruptured, and vehicles were destroyed. The briefly airborne automobile was eventually removed with a crane.
It’s possible the weapon was a BetAB concrete-penetrating bomb, which is available in 150-, 250-, and 500-kilogram variants. This narrow-diameter weapon has a delayed impact fuse and rocket booster, and is designed for penetrating strikes on underground facilities and cratering airbase runways. Russia employed these weapons on the Syrian city of Aleppo in 2016.
That said, a fuse on a special sort of munition may additionally produce the delayed underground blast. Russian commentators speculated that the weapon can have been one among Russia’s recent UMPK glide bombs (an upgrade kit for unguided bombs). These winged weapons may be released from a standoff distance, which could encompass an area over or near Russian soil.
Since the UMPK kits were rushed into operational use this yr and remain somewhat crude and unperfected, its speculated that an error of their release or guidance systems could have caused the Belgorod blast.
(Updated 4/22/2023)
Fighter-Bomber, a outstanding pro-Russian social media account, asserts the attack involved UMPK glide bombs which did not come out their wings after release. These weapons have the range to glide to Kharkiv if released from above Belgorod, but would have dropped directly onto Belgorod if the wings did not open or fell off.
Selecting to release the unreliable bombs directly above the Russian city can be a alternative, however–an unnecessary one given other possible launch trajectories.
While Moscow will investigate the Belgorod mis-bombing, sources near the federal government already indicate that the outcomes likely won’t be made public.
The Fullback Versus Kharkiv
Russian warplanes routinely fly over Belgorod on their solution to take part in combat operations over Ukraine—including the especially relentless bombardment of Kharkiv early within the war, which occurred alongside Russian artillery fires. The image below is of a set point for expended munition, and provides an idea of the vast quantities of death-dealing devices expended on that city alone.
Nonetheless, Russian commentators initially thought this blast to be a Ukrainian attack. Kyiv’s forces have sporadically struck targets near Belgorod on a limited scale since Putin invaded, using artillery, drones, and—on one memorable occasion—Hind attack helicopters for a raid on a fuel storage facility. Russian air defense missiles have also misfired and struck Belgorod.
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A Russian TV commentator later seemed perplexed while reading an announcement seemingly implying that the Belgorod bombing was an operation aimed toward “extremists” at “minimal distance.”
The Su-34—codenamed Fullback by NATO, and dubbed the Platypus or Hellduck for its flattened nose—is an enlarged spinoff of Russia’s family of Flanker heavy fighters with side-by-side seating for pilot and weapon system’s officer. It’s noted for each its heavy maximum payload (consisting of over 15 tons of weapons and stores) and its integrated Platan laser-targeting system, the latter of which provides the jet higher precision ground-attack capability than most Russian combat aircraft.
Nonetheless, the VKS’s Su-34 fleet has suffered heavily, with a minimum of 17 confirmed lost in combat (several over Kharkiv) and two more in accidents, for total attrition between 10 and 20%.
Notably in October 2022, an Su-34 on a training flight smashed into the Russian coastal resort town of Yeysk, killing fifteen people. Each crew ejected before impact.
The wording of the Russian military’s statement today seemingly implies a deliberate decision to release the weapons over Belgorod resulting from a risk to the aircraft. Nonetheless, it has also been described as “an abnormal descent of aviation ammunition,” which could mean the weapon was released from the aircraft without the pilot’s intent. Either scenario is a minimum of less embarrassing than if a pilot or guided bomb mistakenly attacked the mistaken city on the solution to hit a goal in Ukraine.
If Russia’s claim may be taken at face value, the underlying wrongdoer could also be a flaw with the munitions or bomb racks, as discussed above. It can also come all the way down to the maintainers and armorers supporting the Su-34 fleet, who’re likely overworked by the pace of operations.
Notably, a recent intelligence leak suggested that the pilot of a comparatively old Russian Su-27 fighter misinterpreted orders and intentionally fired a missile at a vulnerable British RC-135W surveillance plane (not by accident fired it in its “vicinity” as originally claimed). Nonetheless, the beyond-visual range missile misfired, fortunately averting the possible death of the RC-135’s crew and a serious international incident.
No air force can entirely avoid military aviation accidents that pose threats to civilians, though that risk multiplies considerably in wartime with the increased tempo of operations and carriage of lethal munitions.
After all, it’s awful for anyone whose life is put in danger, or has their automobile or home ruined by such mishaps. On Thursday, Russia’s air force appeared to have by accident inflicted on the people of Belgorod a tiny fraction of the harm it has been doling out to Ukrainian communities every day for over a yr, with paltry military results to indicate for it.