Russia’s Use of Vacuum Bombs in Ukraine Exposed
These inhumane weapons could see Putin at the Hague.
There was never any doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to play dirty in Ukraine, it was just a matter of trying to assess just how far he’d go. As it turns out, the answer was pretty far.
Russian troops were not only bombing indiscriminately in the beginning stages of the invasion, but have now turned to targeting civilians outright.
And, on top of that, there are now reports of Russia employing thermobaric weapons, so-called “vacuum bombs”, that are banned by the Geneva Convention.
Accusations that Russia may be using thermobaric weapons in Ukraine have raised fears about the potential devastation that could result from attacks with the so-called vacuum bombs.
take our poll - story continues belowOksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, said Monday that the Russian military had used a vacuum bomb, which sucks oxygen from the air to trigger a huge explosion. Markarova did not provide additional details and NBC News has not independently verified that the weapon has been used in Ukraine, but Russian thermobaric rocket launchers have been photographed entering the country by a CNN team.
Just how horrible are these munitions?
“It’s just a horrible, devastating weapon,” said David Johnson, a retired U.S. Army colonel and a principal researcher at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit policy research organization headquartered in California.
Thermobaric weapons, or vacuum bombs, are a type of two-stage munition that create enormous explosions. Launched in a rocket or artillery shell, the first explosive charge spreads an aerosol akin to vaporized gasoline over the area. A second charge then ignites the aerosol fog, creating a huge blast, flames, a large pressure wave and a vacuum as oxygen from the surrounding air is sucked up.
Johnson said thermobaric munitions are sometimes known as “a poor man’s nuclear weapon,” because they can obliterate any humans in the vicinity. Victims can be killed by the blast or the accompanying shock wave, and the subsequent vacuum can rupture people’s lungs.
Russian leaders could face repercussions from an international tribunal should the use of thermobaric weapons be proven.
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