A military analyst and the director of the Museum of Air Defense Forces, Yuri Knutov, stated that the RBK-500 cluster bombs used by Russia against Ukrainian forces contributed to deterring a counter-attack. This assessment was reported by Lenta.ru.
Knutov explained that each round weighs about half a ton and is released from a high altitude. The impact area covered is roughly the size of a football pitch.
The expert noted that there is a payload inside the bomb and that the device scatters fragments after the container is opened at a certain height.
Earlier, Russian forces reportedly conducted the first strikes on front-line positions of the Ukrainian army with RBK-500 cluster bombs. Footage described shows rapid flashes across the battlefield, followed by rising smoke. In a later angle, the video appears to show waves of lights moving overhead toward another portion of the area.
According to information provided by the channel, 500-kilogram cluster bombs were deployed by the Russian military near the village of Staromayorske in Ukraine, in the South Donetsk direction.
Shortly before these events, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported casualty and equipment losses suffered by Ukrainian forces during the special military operation. The ministry claimed that the Russian armed forces destroyed 536 aircraft, 254 helicopters, 9,040 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 anti-aircraft missile systems, 13,486 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,185 combat vehicles with multiple launch rocket systems, 7,133 artillery and mortars, and 15,407 special military vehicles of the Ukrainian forces.
Earlier, Russian troops in the Kupyansk direction reportedly targeted personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces.