A number of human rights groups (HAM) and the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States (US) compactly accused Russia of attacking Ukraine using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs. Both weapons are condemned by various international organizations.
The vacuum bomb, another name is thermobaric, which has terrible abilities. "They used a vacuum bomb today," said Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova after a meeting with members of the US Congress on Monday (28/2) local time.
"The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is enormous," he said.
The use of this thermobaric bomb is prohibited by the Geneva convention, because of the terrible damage it causes. Even his nickname is the 'father of all bombs' and is also considered the deadliest outside nuclear bombs.
These bombs usually consist of a container of fuel and two separate explosives. Thermobaric is effective in both open and closed spaces, such as bunkers.
It is capable of sucking oxygen from the surrounding air to produce a high-temperature explosion and generate a blast wave that is significantly longer in duration than conventional explosives and is capable of vaporizing the human body.
When fired, the explosion spreads a 'chemical cloud' in the air, like a lethal deodorant spray.
These gas 'clouds' can seep everywhere, into buildings and beyond, before a secondary explosion ignites the 'cloud', causing a large and long-lasting explosion. The explosion can kill humans horribly, even body armor is useless.
"The TOS-1 rocket barrage will obliterate anything within 200 to 300 meters of the blast zone," said military expert Sebastian Roblin.
In addition, outside the blast zone, the intense pressure waves generated from the explosion can crush bones, damage eyes, cause internal bleeding, damage ears, digestion, and other internal organs. Oxygen can be absorbed from the lungs so that the victim collapses and dies.
"Those at the point of explosion will be crushed. Others will suffer many internal and invisible injuries, from ruptured eardrums, damaged lungs and possibly blindness," the CIA said.
The technology was created in the 1980s and not exclusively by Russia, countries such as the United States have also developed it. The idea has been around since World War II.
The US military has used it in Vietnam, primarily to clear forests for helicopters to land. Also war in Afghanistan during the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. While Russia, for example, used it in the conflict in Chechnya about two decades ago.