'Crew Fatigue', 'Inadequate Training' Behind Russia's Air Bomb Accidents—UK

A lack of training and fatigue were behind recent aerial bomb accidents by Russian pilots, British defense officials have said.

The latest of the accidents occurred on January 2 when a Russian warplane flying over Petropavlovka, a village in the Voronezh region south of Moscow, made an "emergency release" of its explosive payload, damaging nine residential properties, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which said no one was killed or injured in the incident.

Images on social media showed the explosion's aftermath, which included a large crater, destroyed buildings and strewn debris. Regional Governor Alexander Gusev said some residents had to be moved to temporary housing facilities and that compensation would be paid to those affected.

In its update on Wednesday, the U.K. Ministry of Defense gave its explanation for the spate of accidents. "Russia's continued propensity for munition accidents is likely exacerbated by inadequate training and crew fatigue, leading to poor execution of tactics during missions," it said.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment on the U.K. MOD assessment which generally emphasizes Russian losses and Ukrainian gains.

Six days after the "emergency release" incident, a FAB-250 unguided munition was discharged over the village of Rubizhne in the Luhansk region of occupied Ukraine. Luhansk's Kremlin-installed head, Leonid Pasechnik, said on Telegram that no one was injured in Monday's incident which occurred during combat operations.

Russian forces have faced other mishaps in 2023, such as when friendly fire brought down one of Moscow's own prized Su-35 fighter jets at the end of September near Tokmak, a city in occupied Ukraine near the frontlines in the Zaporizhzhia region.

On April 20, 2023, a Su-34 accidentally bombed the border city of Belgorod, leaving a 60-foot crater although Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said no one was killed in the incident which did damage buildings.

Russian state news agency Tass reported on Wednesday that state-owned defense giant Rostec will start production of a new glide bomb "Drel," which is designed to be dropped by jets at a safe distance from a target.

The agency said that the bombs use a guided path to deliver a payload which Western analysts consider to be a cluster munition.

Drel bombs can be be used against armored vehicles, ground facilities, and anti-air defenses and may be resistant to jamming or radar detection, according to analysts cited by Reuters.

In December, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia had decreased aviation activity and glide bombs after Ukraine's military shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber jets.

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