Explainer | Russia is accused of using ‘vacuum bombs’ in Ukraine. Why are they so feared?
- Thermobaric weapons suck up oxygen, then create a blast wave that ‘obliterates’ victims and is especially destructive in enclosed spaces
- Their use in Ukraine to attack a preschool has not been confirmed, but if true, it could ‘potentially be a war crime’, the White House says
Russian forces have been accused of using the widely banned and dangerous weapons known as vacuum bombs that “obliterate” their victims.
Amnesty International accused Russia of using vacuum bombs, or thermobaric weapons, to attack a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside. 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.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen reports but did not have confirmation that Russia had used such weapons.
