Russian forces have been accused of using the widely banned and dangerous weapons known as vacuum bombs that “obliterates” its victims.
Amnesty International accused Russia of using the vacuum bombs, or thermobaric weapons, to attack a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside. While CNN reported that one of its teams had spotted a Russian thermobaric multiple rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border early on Saturday afternoon.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told reporters after meeting with members of the US Congress on Monday that Russia had used a thermobaric weapon.
“They used the vacuum bomb today,” Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers. “…The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.”
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen reports but did not have confirmation that Russia had used such weapons. Psaki added if true, “it would potentially be a war crime,” Reuters reported.
So what are thermobaric weapons and just how dangerous can they be?
How do ‘vacuum bombs’ work?
The thermobaric weapon, also known as a fuel-air explosive, uses both a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges, according to a study done by the Human Rights Watch.
The Humans Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization, located in New York City, that focuses on research pertaining to human rights issues.
First, the weapon is fired or dropped in an area and the first explosive charge spreads the fuel in a cloud that sucks up oxygen and then flows “around objects and into structures.” As the fuel cloud spreads, the second charge detonates it. Once detonated, it creates a “massive blast wave” that is most destructive in enclosed spaces, buildings and foxholes.
Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions and thermobaric weapons.
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Have they been used before?
In 2000, Human Rights Watch reported and condemned Russia’s alleged use of the weapons in Chechnya, a Russian republic, as “a dangerous escalation” with “important humanitarian implications”.
Earlier in August 1999, the Russian military reportedly used FAE bombs against the Dagestani village of Tando, Russia. The US used similar thermobaric bombs in ISIS caves in Afghanistan in 2017, the New York Times reported.
How dangerous can they be?
Due to the wide use of the weapons, a US Central Intelligence Agency study said they are “prone to indiscriminate use” and those closest to the explosion are “obliterated.”
The pressure wave of the vacuum bomb is said to kill its victims by “rupturing lungs” and if the bomb doesn’t detonate, the victims will be burned by inhaling the burning fuel, according to a US Central Intelligence study.
“Since the most common FAE (fuel-air explosive) fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should provide as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as with most chemical agents,” the study said.
In addition, when multiple thermobaric weapons are detonated, they reinforce each other and create a stronger, more dangerous blast, the Human Rights Watch reported.
Those nearby the blast can experience various injuries “including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness,” according to the study.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism