Russian drones and glide bombs stretch Ukraine front

KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine: Living in the gutted-out eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, Maryna has learned to recognise the sound of the devastating Russian glide bombs that have pounded her city for months.

Equipped with wings to help them glide over dozens of kilometres, the bombs are part of an arsenal developed by Russia to let it hit deeper into Ukrainian territory and stretch the front line. Maryna recalled to AFP just one of the recent strikes.

“Six people didn´t get back up. There was blood everywhere,” she said. Overhead, the threat of a fresh attack is constant. In a recent visit to the city, AFP reporters saw Russian planes flying over frequently and a dozen strikes in the area in less than half an hour.

Each drop triggered a blast, seeming to unfold in slow motion, followed by a high column of black smoke. Kostyantynivka used to be relatively sheltered, lying a dozen kilometres from the front line.

But Russian forces are now pounding the city with the cheaply made bombs. Usually made from Soviet stocks and modernised with satellite control systems, each can carry up to a tonne of explosives.

The glide bombs themselves are mostly impossible to intercept for the Ukrainian airforce, whose only option is to try to shoot down the planes. Throughout the three-year war, Russia has used them to devastating effect -- razing cities like Chasiv Yar to the ground and obliterating Ukrainian defensive positions across the front line.