Thermobaric bomb, what is the “oxygen-sucking” weapon used by the Russians

For months, there has been talk of a possible nuclear escalation in the war in Ukraine with the use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia. A step towards a new resurgence of the conflict comes with the use of a thermobaric bomb, launched by the Russians, as announced by the Moscow Ministry of Defense, through a missile with a thermobaric warhead to target a “detachment of foreign mercenaries” on 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, which can be launched from aircraft or rockets, is composed almost 100% of 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 out oxygen”? Thermobaric bombs consist of a fuel container and two separate explosive charges. Upon reaching the target, the first charge releases the fuel, releasing a kind of explosive cloud capable of penetrating even closed but unsealed spaces. Then the second charge explodes the fuel cloud, which, fed by oxygen from the atmosphere, becomes a fiery mass. There are no specific laws prohibiting this type of weapon, however, under the Hague Conventions, their use against civilian targets can be prosecuted as a war crime. Ukrainians have denounced the use of this type of weapon by the Russians in recent months. Now, the armed forces commanded by Vladimir Putin themselves admit it. A deadly weapon, yet another taboo that has been broken in the war that has been flaming Ukraine for more than two years.