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Home > Russia Starts Mass-Producing Three-Tonne Bomb For Use In Ukraine

Russia Starts Mass-Producing Three-Tonne Bomb For Use In Ukraine

Russia has begun mass producing three-tonne high-explosive bombs for use in the war in Ukraine, its defence ministry has said.

The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that production of the FAB-3000 aerial bombs had begun in February.

Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, was also informed that mass production of several other bombs – the FAB-500 and FAB-1500 – had also been ramped up, Russia’s Sputnik news reported.

The FAB-3000 weighs 3000kg and is a general-purpose aerial bomb, used to destroy fortified military and industrial structures and shelters.

Russian military bloggers earlier this month posted videos of FAB-1500 glide bombs – which weigh 1,500kg and glide –destroying multi-storey buildings in Ukrainian-held towns near the front lines in Donbas.

Live Reporting Related Stories 2:55PM

Ukraine-backed anti-Kremlin fighters say they are still operating inside Russia Three Ukrainian-backed paramilitary groups that purport to be made up of Russians opposed to the Kremlin said on Thursday their forces were continuing their cross-border attacks following a week of raids.

The groups launched incursions from northern Ukraine last week into the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod, claiming to have entered several villages on the Russian side of the border.

“The operation, even right now, is continuing. We will talk about our losses after it’s conclusion,” Denis Kapustin, leader of one of the groups, the Right-wing Russian Volunteer Corps, told a press conference in response to a question about the unit’s losses.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims.

2:11PM

Europe’s pro-nuclear leaders seek atomic energy revival Leaders from pro-nuclear European countries and energy experts called for a nuclear energy revival on Thursday at a summit in Brussels, seeking to rebuild the European industry after years of gradual decline.

The political push to expand nuclear – a low-carbon energy source – is part of the drive to meet Europe’s ambitious climate targets. But it faces headwinds including a lack of investment and cost overruns and delays that have plagued recent projects.

“Without the support of nuclear power, we have no chance to reach our climate targets on time,” Fatih Birol, the chief of the International Energy Agency, told reporters ahead of the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels.

1:54PM

Pictured: Firefighters in Kyiv stand on the edge of a crater caused by a Russian missile

Firefighters work near a crater after a Russian attack Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP 1:38PM

Poland to give logistical support to Czech ammunition plan for Ukraine Poland will contribute logistically as well as financially to a Czech-led plan to boost ammunition supplies to Ukraine via purchases outside Europe, the Polish foreign minister said on Thursday.

After more than two years of war with Russia, the most pressing need for Ukraine has become artillery ammunition, which is running low as both sides use heavy cannon fire to hold largely static, entrenched positions along the 1,000-km front line.

“We are very happy to contribute, not only financially but to a very efficient logistical operation so that the ammunition can get to where it’s needed on the front,” Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, told a press conference in Prague.

1:20PM

Scholz backs plan to re-arm Ukraine with money from frozen Russian assets Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has backed the European Commission’s plan to buy arms for Ukraine with billions of euros in profits seized from frozen Russian financial assets.

EU leaders arrived at a summit on Thursday to discuss the plan as a means of bolstering Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

“These [proceeds] should first of all be used to buy those weapons and ammunition that Ukraine needs to defend itself,” Mr Scholz said. He added that he was optimistic about the chances of the leaders uniting on the subject.

“I am quite sure that we are sending a very clear signal to Putin here… And the use of windfall profits is a small but important component,” he said.

The idea of using the proceeds to benefit Ukraine has a broad support among EU governments, diplomats say. But using the money to buy weapons is more problematic for some countries.

1:00PM

Pictured: Members of a bomb squad get to work after Russian missile attacks in Kyiv

Members of a bomb squad work next to a part of a missile after a Russian missile attack Credit: Viacheslav Ratynskyi/REUTERS 12:51PM

Estonia to give 20 million euros in military aid to Ukraine Estonia will send 20 million euros in military aid to Ukraine to help it prepare for the summer.

The Baltic state, a member of the EU and Nato, has led international calls over the past year for more military aid to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion.

Speaking in Kyiv today at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian defence minister, said: “The package includes recoilless anti-tank guns, explosives, various types of artillery ammunition, gas masks, sniper equipment, smaller calibre ammunition and more.”

The latest aid package also includes 155 mm calibre shells, part of the European Union’s initiative to send one million shells to Ukraine.

“The overview that [Ukrainian] defence minister [Rustem] Umerov gave us about the situation on the battlefield confirmed that this package is very much needed. However, it also showed clearly what moving towards summer, Ukraine needs first and foremost: ammunition, all elements of air defence, and also spare parts and electronic warfare equipment,” Mr Pevkur added.

12:30PM

‘Unblock aid’, Ukraine foreign minister urges US Congress after Kyiv attacks Another Russian missile barrage targeted Kyiv this night, while people were asleep.

More than 30 missiles were shot down, and falling debris injured over a dozen people.

I urge the US Congress to unblock aid to Ukraine to save lives, protect freedom, and defeat Russian terror. pic.twitter.com/tARvW9IUA8

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 21, 2024 12:19PM

Russia says Ukraine’s idea of $30 oil price cap ‘beyond all bounds’ Russia said the United States was unlikely to agree to a Ukrainian proposal to lower the price cap on Russian oil to $30 a barrel because it would roil global energy markets and damage the US economy.

The West has looked to damage the Russian economy by imposing a myriad of sanctions and in 2022 a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian oil, which is currently traded at around $68 per barrel.

Before the cap was set, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, in November 2022 urged a limit between $30 and $40 per barrel.

11:56AM

Listen to the latest edition of our podcast on Ukraine

11:40AM

Kyiv hit by Russian cruise missiles in series of ‘massive strikes’ Kyiv was hit by a wave of Russian missiles in the first big strike on the capital in weeks, said the head of Ukraine’s military administration.

Serhiy Popko said cruise and ballistic missiles rained down on the city from different directions, with air alerts lasting for nearly three hours.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 10 people were injured across the city. An 11-year-old girl was among the two people taken to hospital.

Mr Klitschko first reported explosions in the capital at just after 3am.

Mr Popko said Russia used strategic bombers to carry out the attack while also launching some missiles from its territory.

“After a pause of 44 days, the enemy launched another missile attack on Kyiv,” he said. “All emergency services are working on sites. Clearing the consequences of the missile attack is underway.”

The attack comes amid a series of heavy cross-corder attacks between the two sides.

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said three people had been killed in “massive strikes” involving air attacks and ground incursions by armed groups from Ukraine.

Residents gather outside of an apartment block after Russian attacks in Kyiv Credit: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda 11:13AM

Kremlin slams Western ‘pressure’ on Chinese banks over Russia payments The Kremlin slammed the West for putting “unprecedented pressure” on Chinese banks accepting payments from Russia, admitting that there were some “problems” with cross-border transactions.

Citing Russian financial sources, the state-owned Izvestia newspaper reported on Thursday that some Chinese lenders had stopped accepting payments in Chinese yuan from Russian companies.

“The unprecedented US and EU pressure on China continues… this creates certain problems,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked about the reports.

10:39AM

Kremlin will retaliate if the EU uses profits from Russian assets to arm Ukraine Russia will take retaliatory measures in accordance with its own interests and use every legal mechanism at its disposal if the European Union uses profits from frozen Russian assets to buy arms for Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments ahead of a meeting of EU leaders at which the matter is due to be discussed.

10:11AM

Comment: Putin is now openly planning for war against Nato Now that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has secured his historic fifth term in office, it is patently clear that he will devote his next six-year spell at the Kremlin to pursuing his paranoid obsession of confronting the West, writes Con Coughlin.

Having recorded a post-Soviet era record of winning nearly 88 per cent of the votes, Putin used his victory to remind Russians that they would never be intimidated by the West.

“No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness – no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history,” he said. “It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never.”

According to Putin’s narrative, he is fighting Western attempts to diminish Russia through a relentless effort to persuade countries, such as Ukraine, that previously fell under Moscow’s sphere of influence to join Nato and the European Union.

This means the 71-year-old Putin will feel fully justified in exploiting his massive election victory to continue pursuing his agenda of trying to rebuild Russia into a global superpower, even if it runs the risk of provoking a major conflict with the West.

Read the full piece here.

9:53AM

Watch: Explosions from this morning’s Russian strikes on Kyiv

9:28AM

EU looks to use frozen Russian assets to re-arm Ukraine European Union leaders will on Thursday discuss plans to use the profits of frozen Russian assets to re-arm Ukraine’s battle-stricken forces.

Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top diplomat, has proposed transferring 90 per cent of the proceeds to a Brussels-managed fund that could buy weapons for Kyiv.

The scheme could ultimately raise up to €3 billion in Europe for the war-torn nation, according to European Commission estimates, at a time when there are significant doubts over America’s financial and military support.

Some 70 per cent of those frozen Russian assets are being held in clearing houses in Belgium, which has backed the plan.

But there are doubts over whether military neutral countries Ireland, Austria and Malta will sign up to the pact. Hungary and Slovakia, which have opposed weapons shipments to Ukraine, are also likely to object.

An EU diplomat said: “There is a lot of opposition from many European countries. There is a feeling we should wait for the G7 so we don’t do something the Japanese and Transatlantic partners are not doing.

“We have the biggest interest in Europe. The European Central Bank has very clearly warned that if you do some things you might regret later it might destabilise Europe as a safe haven for deposits in the future.”

The EU scheme requires leaders to unanimously back it, leaving it open to being watered down.

9:05AM

Losses at Avdiivka likely cause of slowdown of Russian advances Russia’s heavy losses in the battle for Avdiivka are likely to have contributed to a slowdown in its advances in recent weeks, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Russia took the small eastern Ukrainian city last month at a cost of almost 1,000 troops a day in February as Moscow bolstered its forces there, the MoD previously reported.

The MoD said Russian forces continue to focus on eastern Ukraine but have made only minor gains.

Ukraine, meanwhile, will struggle to hold onto its positions amid shortages of personnel and munitions.

8:48AM

Zelenksy calls on allies to show ‘political will’ in wake of latest attacks Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, called on Western nations to show the “political will” to help Kyiv after Moscow launched a night-time attack on the Ukrainian capital.

“Such terror continues every day and night. It is possible to put an end to it through global unity,” Mr Zelensky said, calling on the West to send Ukraine more air defence systems.

“This is entirely possible if our partners demonstrate sufficient political will.”

8:25AM

Belgium welcomes EU proposal to give Ukraine profits from Russia assets Alexander De Croo, the Belgian prime minister, has welcomed a European Union proposal to transfer profits generated by frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to purchase weapons, ahead of a summit where EU country leaders will debate the plan.

“The proposal on the proceeds themselves, I think it’s a sensible way of doing it. I think the idea to allocate it predominantly to the purchase of weapons makes total sense,” Mr De Croo told Reuters in an interview.

8:08AM

Pictured: Scenes from this morning’s explosions

Credit: Gleb Garanich/REUTERS

Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP

Credit: Alina Smutko/REUTERS 7:58AM

Ukraine’s air defences shot down all 31 Russian missiles targeting the capital, Kyiv’s air force commander said. Residents of a multi-storey building in the central district of Shevchenkivskyi were evacuated after one of the apartments caught fire.

The attack also shattered windows in several houses nearby, and set private cars ablaze, said Serhiy Popko, the head of the military administration.

7:45AM

Kyiv rocked by explosions in early hours of Thursday Kyiv’s residents were urged to stay in shelters as explosions rang out in the early hours of the morning.

Vitaly Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, warned of falling rocket debris and several fires in districts across the capital.

Posting on Telegram, he said: “The number of victims increased to ten. Two of them were hospitalized. Others were treated by medics on the spot. In particular, six people were injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district of the capital. Four – in Svyatoshynsk.”

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