Vacuum bomb Russia

2022 - 3 - 1

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Ukraine's ambassador to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb ... (ABC News)

Russia is accused of attacking a preschool with widely banned cluster munitions while civilians were sheltering inside, with Amnesty wanting the allegations ...

"If, for example, they were used in a densely populated urban area where you knew there were likely to be civilians, the shock wave or blast effects of the weapon were sufficiently extensive that they would hit those civilians, then that would be unlawful and that would be a war crime," he said. "If you were using them in open countryside, against a formation of Ukrainian armoured vehicles or tanks and there are clearly no civilians [about], that would absolutely be a lawful use of the weapon," he said. These kinds of weapons have been around for a while: American forces used thermobaric weapons in Vietnam, and they were also used in Afghanistan to attack the mountainous Tora Bora region. "If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime," she told a press briefing, noting that there were international organisations that would assess that and President Joe Biden's administration "would look to be a part of that conversation". A vacuum bomb uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, producing a lethal shock wave and sucking the oxygen from the lungs of anyone in the vicinity. Russia has been accused of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organisations.

What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work? (The Guardian)

The 'vacuum bomb', which Ukraine says the Russians have used in the invasion, ignites a fireball that sucks in all surrounding oxygen.

The US relied on them in its attempts to eliminate al-Qaida in the mountains in Afghanistan. Hellyer said Russia had a longer track record with them than the west. Such weapons are used for a variety of purposes and come in a range of sizes. The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material – from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles.

Russia used powerful vacuum bomb on Ukraine, envoy says (POLITICO.eu)

Thermobaric weapon works by taking in oxygen to create powerful, high-temperature explosions.

If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime.” A vacuum bomb, also called a thermobaric weapon, works by taking in oxygen to create powerful, high-temperature explosions. The bomb destroyed a Ukrainian army base in the northeastern town of Okhtyrka, killing 70 soldiers, Sumy region administrative chief Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said on his Telegram channel.

Russia accused of using 'vacuum bomb' (7NEWS.com.au)

Russia is being accused of using banned weapons, including a 'vacuum bomb' in Ukraine, which would potentially be classified as a war crime.

Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted on Tuesday that "the Russian troops don't conduct any strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential areas." White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen reports but did not have confirmation that Russia had used such weapons. "They used the vacuum bomb today," Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers.

Footage emerges of brutal shelling in Kyiv as Russia drops 'vacuum ... (Sky News Australia)

Russia has dropped a devastating vacuum bomb on Ukraine while dozens have died in a renewed assault on the country's second city Kharkiv.

It is a genocide of the Ukrainian people,” he said according to Agence France-Presse. “Last Friday, I expressed my increasing concern, echoing those of world leaders and citizens of the world alike, over the events unfolding in Ukraine,” he said in a statement. Head of the Kharkiv military state administration Oleg Sinegubov said there were “dozens of dead civilians” in the streets of the major city. New to Flash? Try 1 month free now A Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesperson said there were “dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded” after the city was “massively fired on”, while a senior military official claimed that “war crimes” were being committed. “The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.”

What is the 'vacuum bomb' that Russia is accused of using in Ukraine? (NewsNation Now)

Thermobaric weapons, also known as vacuum bombs, aerosol bombs or fuel-air explosives (FAEs), are explosive devices that use atmospheric oxygen to create high-temperature explosions with larger blast waves, typically by dispersing a vapor cloud of fuel ...

The thermobaric and cluster bombs that Russia is 'showering' on ... (ThePrint)

One sucks in oxygen to generate high-voltage explosions; another can ruin soil, groundwater even if they don't explode.

Estimates say 10 to 40 per cent cluster bombs fail to detonate once they make an impact on the ground. Cluster bombs operate by breaking into smaller bombs once they are launched. This is not the first time the bombs have been deployed.