An apartment building that was damaged, according to local authorities, by debris from a downed Ukraine-launched missile, in Kursk (Picture: Reuters)
Vladimir Putin has deployed a vacuum bomb to ‘vaporise’ Ukrainian soldiers as deep as 12 miles inside the border region of Kursk.
Russia is battling against thousands of troops after Ukraine’s biggest attack on its sovereign territory since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
As part of a ‘counter-terrorism operation’, the Kremlin announced that it has used a thermobaric bomb – one of the most controversial weapons used in the war so far.
It is a two-stage munition, which causes widespread destruction, making it hard to limit the consequences to a military area.
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The effects on the human body are particularly severe, and its explosion can suck the air out of victims’ lungs.
The Russian defence ministry said fighting was continuing in the Kursk region and that the army has conducted air strikes against Ukrainian forces.
The measures announced – also for neighbouring Belgorod and Bryansk regions that border Ukraine – allow the government to relocate residents, control phone communications and requisition vehicles.
About 76,000 people in the area are understood to have been evacuated in the last few days as Russian forces struggle to repel Ukraine’s incursion.
What are thermobaric bombs and how do they work?
Russia first used thermobaric weapons – also known as vacuum bombs – in Ukraine at the start of the war.
It was previously deployed against civilian targets in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in 1999, and then in Syria, in 2018.
How do they work?
It is a two-stage munition. The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material – from a carbon-based fuel to powdered metal.
A secondary charge within the bomb then ignites the fuel-air mixture.
The result is a massive blast wave that produces extremely high temperaturesand overpressures.
This leads to a devastating shockwave followed by a vacuum effect, as the explosion consumes the surrounding oxygen.
The blast wave can last for significantly longer than a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporising human bodies.
When are they used?
Thermobaric bombs are used for their ability to cause widespread damage over a large area, making them effective against fortified structures, bunkers, tunnels, and troops in open areas or in buildings.
Their ability to penetrate and destroy targets inside enclosed spaces is valued in urban combat..
Due to their destructive power and the severe injuries they can cause, the useis highly controversial.
There has been little reliable information on the daring Ukrainian operation and its strategic aims are unclear.
Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy, presumably to ensure its success.
In a video posted on social media on Friday, soldiers purporting to be from the 61st Brigade holding a Ukrainian flag appeared to be standing outside a Gazprom facility in the Russian town of Sudzha.
They said: ‘Everything is calm in the town. All the buildings are safe, strategic object of Gazprom in Sudzha is under the control of the 99th Mechanised Battalion.’
Ukraine published drone footage of four missile strikes on a Russian convoy that was heading to fight the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region (Picture: e2w)
Russia has also not shared a lot of details about its response – or evidence that it has used a thermobaric bomb.
The raid, which began on Tuesday, is Volodymyr Zelensky’s latest gambit in the war.
The Ukrainian president finally acknowledged the operation in his nightly address to the nation on Saturday.
Vowing to restore justice for Russia’s invasion, he confirmed he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian military officer Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Zelensky said: ;Today, I received several reports from commander-in-chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war on to the aggressor’s territory.
‘Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.’
Asked about the incursion, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the US was ‘in touch with our Ukrainian counterparts’ but that he would not comment until ‘those conversations are complete’.
‘There’s been no changes in our policy approaches’ Kirby said, when asked about US policy on use of weapons.
‘They’re using it in an area where we had said before that they could use US weapons for cross-border strikes. The end goal here is to help Ukraine defend itself.’
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