Russia-Ukraine War: Know all about thermobaric weapons; Why should they be banned?
Russia-Ukraine War: Russia has been accused of using thermobaric weapons, also known as vacuum bombs, and cluster bombs in its invasion of Ukraine.
The use of these weapons is highly controversial because they are far more destructive than conventional explosives of similar size and have a devastating effect on anyone caught in their blast radius.
If the reports from the Ukraine government and human rights groups are true, it represents an escalation in brutality that should concern us all.
Notably, cluster bombs have been banned by international convention. However, thermobaric munitions which are also known as fuel-air explosive devices or “vacuum bombs” are not explicitly prohibited for use against military targets. These weapons produce an oxygen-eating fireball followed by a lethal shockwave.
What are thermobaric weapons, and how do they work?
Thermobaric weapons (also known as aerosol bombs, fuel air explosives or vaccum bombs) produce a massive, high-temperature blast by using oxygen from the air.
The weapons, which have two stages, can be launched as rockets from tank launchers or dropped from aeroplanes. An initial explosion tears open the bomb's fuel container as they hit their target, creating a cloud of fuel and metal particles that spreads over a vast region.
A second explosion follows, igniting the aerosol cloud into a massive ball of fire and unleashing powerful blast waves capable of destroying even reinforced buildings or equipment, as well as vaporising people.
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Those who are close to the igniting point are completely obliterated. Internal injuries, such as burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and potentially blindness, are common among those on the fringe.
Are thermobaric weapons being used in Ukraine?
Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, has accused Russia of using a vacuum bomb during the attack. However, no official confirmation of this allegation has been made.
There have also been reports of thermobaric missile launchers being seen in Ukraine in recent days.
Rules of war for vacuum bombs
There are no particular international rules prohibiting their use, but if a country uses them to target civilians in populated areas, schools, or hospitals, it may be charged with a war crime under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has stated that his court will investigate alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The history
The use of thermobaric weapons can be dated back to World War II when the German army first used them. They were not widely used until the United States used them in Vietnam in the 1960s.
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They were also used by the United States in Afghanistan. First, in an attempt to destroy al-Qaeda forces hidden in the Tora Bora mountains' caves in 2001, and then again in 2017, against Islamic State forces.
Human Rights Watch denounced Russia for using them in its conflict in Chechnya in 1999.
The regime of Bashar al-Assad is said to have used Russian-made thermobaric weaponry in the Syrian civil war.
Cluster bombs and nuclear weapons- another cause of concern
In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, there is more to be worried about than just thermobaric weapons.
According to the Ukrainian government and human rights organisations, Russia has also used cluster munitions. These are bombs or rockets that drop a cluster of smaller "bomblets" across a large area.
Cluster munitions were outlawed in 2008 under an international convention. However, Russia has not signed the agreement (nor have the United States, China, or India), but it has up to this point largely adhered to its provisions.
Moscow's nuclear arsenal, on the other hand, is a source of worry.
President Vladimir Putin has warned that he might use them, putting Russian nuclear forces on high alert and threatening that countries that interfere in an invasion will face "consequences you have never seen."
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-PTC News
