▲ Ukraine heavily struck by Russian glide bombs
Following ballistic missiles, Russia is exploiting vulnerabilities in Ukraine's air defense network by deploying glide bombs.
According to foreign media outlets including the Associated Press on August 3, local time, the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine came under a Russian attack late the previous night, leaving 1 person dead and about 30 others injured.
Property damage was extensive as 22 apartment buildings were damaged across four districts in the city.
According to regional authorities, Russian forces intensively dropped eight glide bombs on the area for 90 minutes.
On July 14, a temporary encampment of Ukrainian forces near the Donetsk region was struck by an FAB-3000 glide bomb.
Weighing 6,600 pounds (approximately 3,000 kilograms), this bomb is known to be the most powerful weapon in Russia's arsenal.
Glide bombs are guided munitions released from fighter jets that strike targets via long-range gliding, and are considered difficult to intercept with existing air defense systems.
Military experts analyze that stopping glide bombs requires intercepting the fighter jets launching them, which is realistically difficult for Ukraine to counter from a distance, particularly when bombs are dropped from Russian airspace.
Another advantage of glide bombs is that they are relatively inexpensive compared to high-end air defense resources such as Patriot systems.
Analysts suggest that Russia has recently intensified glide bomb attacks to target loopholes in Ukraine's air defense network.
Ukraine has been suffering from a shortage of air defense resources, including Patriot systems, since the United States attacked Iran in February of this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a NATO summit last month that he would grant a license to produce Patriot systems, but follow-up discussions have been slow.
On July 28, President Trump stated regarding the provision of a Patriot production license, "We are discussing it, but handing over such technology is not an easy thing to do," adding, "No decision has been made yet."
The intensity of Russia's offensive has risen noticeably after Ukraine stepped up long-distance drone attacks targeting oil facilities and distribution networks.
According to regional Russian authorities, overnight Ukraine attacked a warehouse belonging to the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries located in the Vladimir region.
Since mid-last month, Ukraine has targeted about 20 Wildberries warehouses across Russia.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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