Russia admits using thermobaric rocket system during invasion of Ukraine, claims UK

The United Kingdom on Wednesday announced that Russia has admitted that it used a thermobaric rocket launching weapon on its deadly attack on Ukraine. It is to mention that thermobaric weapons, which are also known as "vacuum bombs," suck in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a more high-temperature explosion than conventional bombs. Even though they are not illegal, their usage is controversial because they are much more devastating than conventional explosives of a similar size. 

Now, taking to Twitter, the UK Defence Ministry informed that Russia has admitted to using the TOS-1A weapon system, which uses thermobaric rockets, in Ukraine. Britain’s statement was also accompanied by a video of the Soviet-era weapon. The UK said that the weapon can destroy infrastructure and cause significant damage to internal organs, resulting in death. 

On the other hand, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby on Wednesday said that the United States has still seen “no indications” that thermobaric weapons have been used. It is to mention that under the international laws of armed conflict, thermobaric weapons can’t be used against military targets if their launch could also harm civilians. But footage from the Kremlin incursion, which is now at the two-week mark, has shown TOS-1A weapons deployed to Ukraine. 

“We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine which has no place on the battlefield,” the US envoy to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the  UN General Assembly last week.  

Where have the thermobaric weapons been used before? 

Russia’s confirmation comes after US officials and lawmakers warned that Moscow is escalating its violence in Ukraine, with hundreds of civilians killed in attacks. Meanwhile, 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 Donbass region have been using them for a number of years now. It is to mention that according to The Guardian, back in 2000, Human Rights Watch even condemned Moscow’s reported use of the weapons a year earlier in Chechnya as “dangerous escalation” with important humanitarian implications. 

(Image: AP)