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Russian claims of ODAB-9000 super bomb use in Vovchansk refuted by Ukrainian military

Russian propagandists claimed the use of the ODAB-9000 thermobaric bomb in Vovchansk, Ukrainian military and experts refute this, suggesting a smaller munition was used.
Massive explosion in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast. Screenshot from a Russian Telegram video.
Russian claims of ODAB-9000 super bomb use in Vovchansk refuted by Ukrainian military

Ukrainian military officials have refuted claims made by Russian propaganda channels regarding the use of Russia’s most powerful non-nuclear ODAB-9000 thermobaric bomb in Vovchansk, northern Kharkiv Oblast. Experts also refute the claims, noting that the explosion footage shows a heavy but less powerful bomb equipped with a gliding kit, unlike the ODAB-9000, which uses parachute deployment. 

The ODAB-9000 is an experimental weapon that was tested only once in 2007. It was initially designed to be deployed by strategic bombers such as the Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22M3. However, Defense Express, a Ukrainian defense analysis website, noted that using such a weapon in current combat conditions would be highly impractical due to the threat posed by Ukrainian air defense systems.

On 2 October 2024, Russian Telegram channels circulated a video purportedly showing a powerful bomb strike on a Vovchansk neighborhood. Multiple Ukrainian Telegram channels and media shared the video, repeating the Russian claims.

The channels claimed that Russian aviation had deployed the ODAB-9000, Russia’s most powerful thermobaric bomb.

Screenshots from a Russian military footage of the testing of the ODAB-9000 bomb in 2007.

However, Ukrainian military experts quickly cast doubt on these assertions. Defense Express suggested that the munition used in the Vovchansk attack was more likely to be a heavy but less powerful dumb bomb fitted with a UPMK gliding kit. The website noted that Russia has been known to use ODAB-1500 thermobaric bombs with UPMK kits, as well as FAB-3000 bombs, both of which can be deployed by Su-34 fighter-bombers.

A Russian gliding bomb moments before a huge explosion in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast. Screenshot from a Russian Telegram video.

Later, Ukrainian Colonel Vitalii Sarantsev, spokesperson for the Kharkiv Operational and Tactical Group, stated that the Russians likely used a munition of lesser power and weight. He noted that no movements of strategic bombers, capable of carrying the ODAB-9000, had been observed in the airspace at the time of the attack. He suggested that the claimed explosion’s power was exaggerated by Russian media to create a more dramatic narrative.

“I once again urge representatives of the Ukrainian media and administrators of Telegram channels to adhere to information hygiene, use verified sources of information, and refrain from spreading fake messages from Russian propagandists, which only play into the enemy’s hands!” Sarantsev said.

Sarantsev stated that such reports may be aimed at demoralizing Ukrainian defense forces, intimidating the local population, and destabilizing the region.

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