Russian forces have begun using jet-powered guided bombs to strike Ukraine. However, Ukrainian air defenses are capable of shooting them down.
Russian forces have begun using jet-powered guided bombs to strike Ukraine. However, Ukrainian air defenses are capable of shooting them down.
As Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported in an interview with Suspilny, jet-powered combat aircraft are already being spotted in the sky over the Odessa, Mykolaiv, and Poltava regions. The enemy is using them individually to test the reaction of Ukrainian air defense.
In particular, commenting on the recent Russian attack on the Odessa region, the serviceman noted that these bombs could be intercepted by air defense systems.
«This is the same bomb that was dropped from the Su-34 aircraft: in terms of flight parameters, it is similar to a cruise missile, so it can be intercepted by air defense systems. Yesterday, the South Air Command confirmed the interception of two such guided aerial bombs with an increased range; what type it is will be determined by experts. The fall of the third bomb was recorded in an open area of the territory without consequences,» Ignat said.
The colonel also called for not raising the level of tension, noting that the enemy uses many air weapons and continues to improve them. However, at the same time, Ukraine, together with its partners, is also developing its defense technologies.
Ignat added that the war opens up opportunities for improving both defensive and offensive weapons.
Recall that the Russians have intensified the use of rocket-propelled grenades on the front. These bombs are a «miracle weapon» for the Russians, as they destroy buildings «like cards», creating craters 6–10 m in diameter. Air defense does not have time to react to such weapons — the bombs are low-emission, fast.
It is known that on October 9, 2025, the Russian Federation struck the Dnieper River — probably with the Grom-E1 missile system (a reactive missile system based on the Kh-38 missile). Experts say that this is not a classic missile system, but a hybrid with rocket acceleration.
On October 18, Russia launched its first strike with a guided aerial bomb (GAB) on the city of Lozova in the Kharkiv region, which is 120 km from the occupied territories. The prosecutor’s office reported that the city was hit by a guided aerial bomb (GAB) launched from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. That is, the GAB flew 130 km. This is most likely an UMPB-5R, which was modernized in 2025. A low-impulse jet engine was added to the GAB, increasing its range by 20–30 km.
On October 19, 2025, the Russians struck Mykolaiv with two missile defense systems.
On October 20, the Russians launched a KAB for the first time from the Kharkiv region to the Poltava region, the Air Force reported. According to monitoring channels, the KAB was a reactive one. The number of such strikes will probably increase.
More about jet KABs here .
