Russia may have used the ODAB-9000, a thermoarbic bomb in Ukraine for the first time, as per reports. According to pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, a video allegedly shows the bomb being used in Vovchansk, located in the Kharkiv region.
While some Russian military experts claim this is the bomb’s first deployment in Ukraine, the video has raised doubts.Reports indicated that the footage, from 30 September, was said to capture the use of an ODAB-1500 rather than the more powerful ODAB-9000.
Colonel Vitalii Sarantsev, spokesperson for the Ukraine’s Kharkiv Operational and Tactical Group, dismissed these claims. He described the reports as part of an “information war” aimed at spreading fear and destabilising the region. Sarantsev clarified that the bomb used in the Vovchansk airstrike was of lower power than the ODAB-9000, and that no strategic bombers capable of carrying such a weapon had been detected.
“The use of this munition requires a suitable carrier, which could theoretically be, for example, a Tu-160 strategic bomber, but the movement of such aircraft has not been recorded. An ammunition of lower weight and power was used, the explosion of which was used by propagandists to create a “spectacular” picture,” Sarantsev said.
“The explosion was exaggerated by propagandists for effect,” Sarantsev said, urging Ukrainian media and Telegram channels to verify sources before spreading information.
Russian forces have reportedly taken control of the Ukrainian town of Vuhledar. Pro-Russian Telegram channels and war bloggers shared footage of Russian troops raising the national flag over the destroyed town, which had previously been defended by Ukraine’s 72nd Mechanized Brigade. Despite claims of victory, no official confirmation has been made by the Russian or Ukrainian military.
President Vladimir Putin has reiterated Russia’s goal of securing the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified since August. The town of Vuhledar is strategically significant due to its high-ground location in the coal mining region.