A horrific moment when a massive explosion shook a Ukrainian airport, sending a huge cloud of mushrooms into the sky amid fears that Vladimir Putin has vacuum bombs
- The blast struck Chuguev near Kharkiv, where the weapons depot is located
- A ball of fire erupted in the sky, sending shockwaves into the city
- Ukraine claims Putin has devastating thermobaric weapons
This is the horrifying moment when a massive explosion shook Ukraine, sending incendiary bombs and a cloud of mushrooms into the sky.
The blast struck an airport in Chuguev, near the country’s second-largest city Kharkivwhere an arms depot is believed to be located.
The force of the shock wave made the cameramen in the nearby apartment building bounce back.
Massive explosion rocked Ukraine, sending incendiary bombs and a cloud of mushrooms into the sky
Witnesses believe the airport was bombed from the air after seeing planes nearby during the attack.
The devastating attack comes amid fears that Vladimir Putin is launching vacuum and cluster bombs that would be a war crime if used against civilians.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, accused Russia of using deadly weapons, but this was not confirmed.
Vacuum bombs – also known as thermobaric weapons – are among the most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever developed and banned under the Geneva Conventions.
Powerful explosive weapons, which use the atmosphere itself as part of the explosion, are capable of evaporating bodies, crushing internal organs and turning cities into ruins, causing enormous loss of life.
The blast struck an airport in Chuguev, near the country’s second-largest city, Kharkov, which is believed to have an arms depot.
Witnesses believe the airport was bombed from the air after seeing planes nearby during the attack
The force of the shock wave made the cameramen in the nearby apartment building bounce back
This comes as Kherson, an important port city in southern Ukraine, appears to have been an early victim today as Russian tanks occupied the city center overnight and then began arriving at tables.
Kharkiv was also heavily bombed in the early hours when paratroopers landed, sparking shootings near a military hospital.
Mariupol, another key port city in southern Ukraine, is also reportedly under heavy bombardment as Russian forces try to surround it.
If the city falls, then Putin’s people are expected to push north, trying to encircle Ukrainian forces fighting near Donetsk and force them to surrender.
Vladimir Zelensky said Russia was trying to wipe out Ukraine with renewed attacks on all fronts, including an expected attack on the city, which houses Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian military says Russia has resumed its attack “on all fronts” today, with paratroopers landing in Kharkiv, tanks and trucks rushing to the center of Kherson and striking in Mariupol and Zhytomyr
Part of the Karazin National University campus in Kharkiv was destroyed after being hit by a Russian missile that appears to have been intended for a nearby police or interior ministry building
Firefighters are fighting to put out the fire in Kharkiv as the city was subjected to renewed air strikes today, with a spokesman saying there was almost no part of the city left untouched.
Ruins are on the streets of the Ukrainian city of Kharkov after an early morning missile strike by Russia
Civilians help build makeshift barricades around Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to stop Russia from taking over
Ukrainian troops are preparing barricades to protect the city of Zaporozhye – including building a defense around the reactors of the Energodar power plant.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, called on the generals to bypass the city, while warning that they could create a “new Chernobyl” if the plant is damaged.
Meanwhile, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, warned that if World War III broke out in Europe, it would be “nuclear and destructive” in a thin veiled threat to NATO from interfering in Ukraine.
What is a “vacuum bomb”?
Thermobaric weapons were developed by both the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
In September 2007, Russia detonated the largest thermobaric weapon ever made, creating an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons.
The American version of the weapon is reported to cost more than $ 16 million each.
A vacuum bomb or thermobaric weapon draws oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, usually producing an explosive wave of significantly longer duration than a conventional explosive and capable of evaporating human bodies.
The bomb works by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making it much more deadly than conventional weapons.
Thermobar explosives apply the principles underlying the accidental explosions of unlimited clouds of steam, just like those that plagued British flour mills in the 19th century.
Initially, the weapon releases an aerosol consisting of very fine particles, such as metal, flammable powders or chemical droplets.
According to the Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, this cloud travels around sites and in cavities and structures and can penetrate small openings, such as openings in buildings, bunkers and engine compartments of armored vehicles.
An ignition source then ignites the cloud of particles and their rapid combustion causes an explosion and vacuum in the vicinity.
Russia has reportedly already used a thermobaric missile system called the TOS-1 Buratino, also known as a flamethrower.
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