This kind of weapon actually sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to create a higher temperature explosion than conventional bombs.
Russia has deployed thermobaric weapons systems in Ukraine, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said on March 3 during a visit to Estonia, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to the Correspondent.
He expressed concern that the use of such weapons could escalate and increase damage.
«How far [Russian President Vladimir Putin] will go, what weapons he will allow to use to achieve his ultimate goal is unknown, but we have seen the use of a huge amount of artillery. We have seen the deployment of thermobaric artillery systems, and we are worried about how wide its application can be», — he said.
The Ukrainian government and human rights groups have already said Russia appears to be using thermobaric weapons, and some military experts say video footage shows Russian military equipment capable of launching such weapons in Ukraine.
Russia does not comment on this information.
Thermobaric weapons, sometimes referred to as «vacuum bombs», actually suck oxygen from the surrounding air to create a higher temperature explosion than conventional bombs.
While not illegal, their use is controversial as they are far more destructive than regular explosives of the same size and have a devastating effect on anyone caught in their blast radius.
USA used such weapons in Vietnam and recently in Afghanistan to destroy mountain caves where militants were hiding.
Russia used them in the Chechen war in 1999, for which a human rights activist was convicted by Human Rights Watch.
It was also reported that Russian-made thermobaric weapons were used during the war in Syria by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.