What are vacuum bombs that Ukraine claims Russia using amid invasion? How do they work?

Fears have arisen over the alleged use of vacuum bombs by Russia after the Ukrainian ambassador to the US and human rights groups on Monday said that Moscow has been attacking the former Soviet nation with thermobaric weapons - another term for the weapon. 

It is to mention that the use of the deadly weapon, which sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, has yet to be independently confirmed. However, several media outlets, including CNN, have reported that one of its teams spotted a Russian thermobaric rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border on Saturday. Footage from Ukraine has also shown vacuum bomb launchers on Russia’s TOS-1 vehicles. 

What is a vacuum bomb and how do they work? 

A vacuum bomb or a thermobaric weapon is a two-stage munition that is used to suck in the oxygen from the surrounding area in order to generate a high-temperature explosion. Therefore, the blast wave produced by the bomb is significantly longer in duration as compared to a conventional explosive. The weapon is also capable of vaporising human bodies. 

The thermobaric weapon is also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel-air explosive. As mentioned before, the vacuum bomb is a two-stage munition. The Guardian explained that the first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material, from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles. A second charge then ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen. 

Where have they been used before? 

According to reports, the deadly bombs have been used by Russian and western forces since the 1960s. The United States relied on the thermobaric weapon in its attempts to eliminate terror group al-Qaeda in the mountains in Afghanistan. Russia, on the other hand, has had a longer track record with the bombs than the west. 

According to Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the separatists that Russia was supporting in the Donbas region have been using them for a number of years now. It is to mention that according to The Guarding, back in 200, Human Rights Watch even condemned Moscow’s reported use of the weapons a year earlier in Chechnya as “dangerous escalation” with important humanitarian implications. 

How dangerous are vacuum bombs? 

According to experts, the thermobaric weapons were effective at their purpose of destroying defensive positions. They are not used to penetrate a tank, however, they could be a “very destructive weapon” against an apartment complex or building. Analysts explained that the vacuum bombs suck the air out of the lungs of defenders. 

(Image: Twitter/AP)