Russia launches guided aerial bomb toward Odesa region for the first time

"A KAB was heading toward Pivdenne/Chornomorske," the Air Force said in a statement.

Journalists also reported explosions in the Odesa region.

It is believed that the Russian army used modified UMPB-5 rocket bombs, which had not previously been used to strike the territory of the Odesa region.

Updated at 1:57 p.m. Kyiv time

Odesa Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper confirmed the first use of KABs in the Odesa region.

"During today’s air attack, the Russian army used guided aerial bombs against the civilian infrastructure of our region for the first time," he said.

Kiper noted that this is a new serious threat for Odesa, as such strikes pose a huge danger to people and can cause significant destruction.

"I urge everyone! Do not ignore air raid sirens," the head of the OVA appealed.

New Russian aerial bombs

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) reported that Russia is moving toward serial production of aerial bombs with UMPK. These bombs are called Grom-1 or Grom-2, but the concept is the same: their operational range is 150–200 km. Recent tests showed a range of up to 193 km.

"The first such strikes we saw were on Dnipro, and now we are seeing them in other cities as well," Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukrainian intelligence, told RBC-Ukraine.

In Dnipro, around 6 p.m. Kyiv time on October 9, an explosion was reported. The Air Force reported the movement of a guided aerial bomb toward the city. According to preliminary information, Russia attacked using the cruise missile-bomb Grom-E1.

Additionally, on Monday, October 20, a guided aerial bomb was launched toward the Poltava region.

Read more about the new missile-bomb in RBC-Ukraine’s report.