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Defense Minister Umerov: Russia attacked Ukraine with 10,000 guided bombs this year

by Dominic Culverwell May 26, 2024 7:32 PM 2 min read
The Epicenter hypermarket burned down in a residential area in the north of Kharkiv after two guided bombs hit at around 16:00 on May 25, 2024. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Russia has dropped nearly 10,000 guided bombs in Ukraine since the start of the year, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on May 25.

Umerov called for more air defense and said that Kyiv is discussing this with allies “every day and at every opportunity.”

He expressed condolences to the families of the dead and wounded following Russia’s attack with two guided bombs on a hypermarket in Kharkiv on May 25, which killed at least 16 and injured over 40 people.

“This is a deliberate killing of the civilian population,” Umerov wrote on Facebook, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of “another act of genocide.”

Russia typically uses laser-guided or satellite-guided KAB bombs, with payloads ranging from 250 to 1,500 kilograms, against Ukrainian military and civilian targets.

Soviet-era dumb bombs are fitted with cheap gliding kits, allowing them to fly much further and more accurately.

Kharkiv and the surrounding oblast have suffered particularly heavy attacks from guided bombs in recent months. At least 15 people were injured on Orthodox Easter Sunday after a bomb hit a residential area in downtown Kharkiv.

The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said the May 25 attack on Kharkiv emphasizes Ukraine's urgent need for additional air defense systems and called on European countries to provide assistance.

Borrell's plea echoes that of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who asked allies to send Patriot air defense systems following news of Russia's attack.

President Volodymyr Zelensky also reiterated the importance of air defense weapons in the aftermath of the hypermarket bombing.

Glide bombs help Russia gain land in Ukraine. What makes them so effective?
One critical factor in Russia’s recent battlefield successes in Ukraine is its extensive use of glide bombs. Every week, hundreds of these large, deadly weapons rain down on Ukraine, creating 20-meter-wide craters and obliterating military positions and entire settlements. Russia has heavily relie…

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11:51 PM

Trump 'very surprised, disappointed' at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.

"I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending," Trump said during a news conference in the Oval Office. "All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw thing I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised, so I'm very disappointed in that way."
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