Putin may have already used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine – but what are they?

If not incinerated instantly, those caught in the thermobaric's blast would find themselves with immense internal injury

Putin is reportedly prone to employ thermobaric weapons against Ukraine, causing worldwide criticism and a lot of people wondering what the hell they are. On Monday, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, claimed that Russia had already used such a weapon during airstrikes. "They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention," she said.

But what are they?

[caption id="attachment_320222" align="alignnone" width="2048"] A Russian thermobaric rocket launcher during the Victory Day military parade in 2020/Via Getty[/caption] Also known as an aerosol bomb, fuel-air explosive and vacuum bomb, thermobaric missiles are one of the most barbaric forms of warfare. The attack comes in two stages, with the first distributing an aerosol made from carbon-based fuel. A second charge ignites the cloud, creating a fireball, a shockwave and then a vacuum that sucks up all surrounding oxygen. While most bombs tend to be a mix of fuel and oxidizer, thermobaric weapons are 100 per cent fuel. Such bombs are usually employed as their blasts last considerably longer than conventional explosives. Dr Marcus Hellyer, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told the Guardian that Russia would use such explosives as a "bunker buster." The blast radius varies depending on how the explosion is deployed. While some vacuum weapons can be shot from hand-held launchers, others require full missile-like deployment, covering a larger area.

Have they been used before?

[caption id="attachment_320223" align="alignnone" width="2048"] A US-made vacuum bomb/Via Getty[/caption] Yes, lots of times in fact. While the origins of thermobaric weapons date back to Germany in World War II, American and Russian scientists streamlined designs in the 1960s. The US later used the weapon during the Vietnam war and it has since been used by both the UK and US against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The explosives were also used in the first and second Chechen wars, for which Russia played a part. Both Russia and Syria also used the weapons during the Syrian civil war and it is a popular choice for terrorist organisations, as seen during 1993's World Trade Centre bombing.

How deadly are they?

[caption id="attachment_320226" align="alignnone" width="944"] The bombs can be deployed by various means/Via Getty[/caption] Thermobaric weapons are extremely effective at "primarily destroying defensive positions", Hellyer said. They would most likely be used against buildings and fortified areas due to their innate capability of wiping out a specified area. The CIA had previously published a document on the weapons, which they said would "obliterate" anyone near the ignition point, reports the i news. Those caught in the immediate vicinity of the blast would be completely incinerated, while those on the outskirts would be in unimaginable pain. The report explained: "Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness." Chemical burns and fractured bones are also common. Related links:

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