Pentagon believes Russia is using unguided munitions known as “dumb bombs” in their war efforts in Ukraine during which it has launched more than 710 missiles, a senior US defense official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The so-called dumb bombs lead to significant collateral damage since they’re not precision-guided munitions and have limited ability to strike targets with precision and accuracy.
Though it is unclear if the use of dumb bombs were truly intentional and if it was due to damage to precision capabilities, the US has seen increasing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure due to the combined use of bombs and missiles.
Pentagon’s claims were corroborated with the report of the international NGO Amnesty International on Wednesday highlighting the use of dumb bombs in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv during a March 3rd Russian airstrike that reportedly killed 47 civilians.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director Joanne Mariner points out that the airstrike of Chernihiv was a merciless, indiscriminate attack on people that shocks the conscience
According to Amnesty International’s claims, they’re in possession of verified content from another Ukraine airstrike location where unguided FAB-500 M62 bomb was removed by civil defense forces.
On top of that, the Russian military has released an official video on 6 March showing the launch of Su-34 Fullback aircraft loaded with eight FAB-500 bombs, an indicator of a typical combat load in current Russian operations, as Amnesty claims.
The claims of unguided “dumb bombs” usage add to claims that Moscow is not concerned about civilian casualties and lend them more credence, especially after the alleged Russian airstrike on a children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol on Wednesday.
Russian strikes have previously hit civilian infrastructure including residential buildings, evacuation routes, and a cellphone tower near the Babyn-Yar Holocaust Memorial. According to United Nations data, almost 500 civilians have been killed and over 2 million Ukrainians have been displaced since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
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