A week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv, the capital, is still resisting, as is Kharkov, the country’s second-largest city. But authorities say the situation in Mariupol, the main port on the Sea of Azov, is deteriorating by the hour. The city center and residential areas were shelled, including a maternity ward and a school.
Russia has been accused by Ukrainian authorities and observers of using it thermobaric bombs, especially devastating weaponsperhaps the most destructive of conventional weapons.
Ukrainian authorities and the media claim to have observed Russian armor equipped with TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers designed to launch these missiles. The use of this bomb is strictly regulated by the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, because of its devastating power.
Destructive explosive effect
Sent from a launcher a few kilometers from the target, this “vacuum bomb” works in two stages. First, it explodes, sucking up the surrounding oxygen and creating something like a fireball. The temperature is about 3000 degrees. Subsequently, a shock wave is created, an “explosion”, all around the impact.
Nothing resists on the ground, bodies evaporate, buildings are destroyed and the damage can be counted a few kilometers around. A little further on, the damage to the human body is important after the “explosion”. The eardrums can be perforated and the eyes damaged.
Big explosion in Kharkov, I can not confirm with certainty what weapon was used, but several people said it was thermobaric. It can also be a large ammunition depot. pic.twitter.com/9OQKlkWjC7
—OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 1, 2022
Thermobaric weapons, also known as fuel and air explosives or sprays, are not new. They have already been used in Afghanistan, Syria and Chechnya. Russia has several, as does the United States..
This bomb is often used to destroy buildings and military targets. But it also affects civilians due to the explosive effect caused around the point of impact. Their potential use in the Ukrainian conflict complements the list of acts that can be tried as war crimes.
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