Thermobaric bomb, what is the weapon that “sucks oxygen” used by the Russians –

There has been talk for months of a possible atomic escalation in the war in Ukraine with the use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia. A step towards a further escalation of the conflict comes from the use of the thermobaric bomb, launched by the Russians, as announced by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, via a missile with a thermobaric warhead to hit a “deployment of foreign mercenaries” in the southern outskirts of Sudzha, in the Kursk region.

But what are thermobaric weapons and why are they more lethal and destructive than the devices used so far in this conflict? This type of weapon that can be dropped from aircraft or launched as rockets is composed of almost 100% explosive fuel that has the characteristic of “sucking oxygen”. Also called vacuum bombs or aerosol bombs, they are considerably more powerful than conventional explosives and their explosion lasts longer, explains Repubblica, than conventional explosives of the same weight.

What does it mean that they “suck oxygen”? Thermobaric bombs are made up of a fuel container and two separate explosive charges. When they hit the target, the first charge releases the fuel, releasing a sort of explosive cloud that can penetrate even closed but not sealed spaces. Then the second charge detonates the fuel cloud which, fed by oxygen in the atmosphere, becomes a fiery mass. There are no specific laws that prohibit this type of weapon, however, under the Hague Conventions, their use on civilian targets can be prosecuted as a war crime. The Ukrainians have denounced the use of this type of weapon by the Russians in recent months. Now the armed forces under the command of Vladimir Putin are admitting it. A deadly weapon, another taboo that has fallen in the war that has been raging in Ukraine for over two years.