Ukrainian Armed Forces deny Russia's using ODAB-9000 bomb in Vovchansk
Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces deny using ODAB-9000 bomb in Vovchansk (Russian media)
The Ukrainian Defense Forces deny that the Russian occupiers used an ODAB-9000 bomb in Vovchansk. Such fake reports may be part of the information warfare, according to the Kharkiv operational and tactical group of troops.
“The information about the alleged use of the ODAB-9000 bomb by the Russian occupation forces in Vovchansk is not true,” the statement says.
According to Colonel Vitalii Sarantsev, spokesperson for the Kharkiv operational and tactical group of troops, this munition requires an appropriate carrier, which could theoretically be, for example, a Tu-160 strategic bomber. The Ukrainian military did not record any movement of these aircraft.
“The munition used was of lower weight and power, the explosion of which was used by propagandists to create a spectacular picture,” Sarantsev adds.
The spokesperson suggests that such reports could be part of an information war aimed at demoralizing the Ukrainian military, intimidating the local population, and destabilizing the region.
ODAB-9000
The ODAB-9000 is considered Russia's most powerful non-nuclear missile. It was tested only once in 2007. It is an aircraft bomb with a volumetric explosion.
The ODAB-9000 is also unofficially called the father of all bombs in Russia, as the munition is supposedly a counterpart to the American GBU-43/B, the so-called mother of all bombs.
The alleged use of the ODAB-9000 in Vovchansk was posted online. However, Ukrainian analysts consider this unlikely. Because the munition is designed to be dropped over the target, and the carriers of this bomb are Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22M3. The use of the ODAB-9000 would mean the loss of the aircraft.
Analysts also emphasize that the video shows the explosion of what is probably a planning munition.
