Dozens of glide bombs used by Russia to hammer Ukrainian frontline regions have mistakenly fallen on its own territory, according to a report.
An internal Russian document seen by the Washington Post reveals at least 38 of the bombs came down in the Belgorod border region between April 2023 and April 2024 - including at least four on Belgorod city itself.
Most of the bombs did not explode, according to the report. However, one detonated when it hit a road in Belgorod last year, causing a 65ft wide crater and causing damage to buildings and cars, the paper said.
The Washington Post cited experts as saying the Soviet-era munitions "often fail - resulting in impacts on Russian territory".
The internal report said most of the bombs were discovered by civilians, and in the majority of cases the Russian defence ministry could not identify when they'd been launched.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Russia has used over 800 glide bombs against Ukraine in the past week alone.
"A certain percentage of Russian bombs is defective," military expert Ruslan Leviev told the Post. He said it was believed the "accidental releases" were caused by the "unreliability" of the guidance systems they'd been retrofitted with.
However he noted that "only a fraction" of the bombs fail, meaning their overall effectiveness for Russia is not affected.
