November 22 overnight, the russian armed forces launched Shahed-136 drones in an attack on residential areas in Sumy, Ukraine. The assault resulted in two fatalities, twelve injuries, and significant damage to buildings.
Volodymyr Artiukh, head of the regional military administration, reported that shrapnel was found in the drone warheads used in the attack. Defense Express notes, the Ukrainian official likely refers to high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warheads, designed to scatter small metal balls or splinters upon detonation.
Read more: What Is Known of Thermobaric Warhead of russian Shahed Drones, Launched Against Ukraine
In such warheads, the lion's share of damage comes from fragmentation over sheer explosive force, making them particularly effective against unfortified personnel. However, deploying these drones against civilian areas underscores russia's intent to instill terror among the population.
The specific type of warhead remains unclear. It could have been a conventional HE-FRAG charge but with high probability it was the already known TB BCh-50 combined-action warhead, frequently employed in Shahed-136 drones, as revealed by the Alabuga data leak this April.
Important to note, the TB BCh-50 is primarily a thermobaric warhead — but the russians added 2,300 steel balls, each 9 mm in diameter, to enhance its lethality. This additional fragmentation may account for the "shrapnel" described by Artiukh.
That is, the fragmentation effect in TB BCh-50 is secondary, while the main threat is the thermobaric action of this warhead, which is much more effective against victims in confined spaces, as Defense Express had explained previously.
However, it is also possible that russia has developed a separate conventional HE-FRAG warhead for these drones, though such a variant would have reduced effectiveness due to its limited ability to penetrate structures like walls.
Read more: russian Drones with Thermobaric Warheads Targeted Ukrainian Civilians in Recent Attacks
