What is a thermobaric bomb and why is it so deadly?

Rob Waugh

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States has accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with so called ‘vacuum bombs’ or thermobaric weapons.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States said, ‘"They used the vacuum bomb today. The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large."

But what are thermobaric weapons?

The weapons suck in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion.

They typically produce a blast wave that lasts significantly longer than that of a conventional explosive and are capable of vapourising human bodies.

In warfare, they are often used in so-called ‘bunker buster’ roles, or to attack caves or tunnel system

The term thermobaric comes from the Greek ‘therme’ and ‘baros’ meaning ‘heat’ and ‘pressure’.

How thermobaric weapons work

NORTH OSSETIA, RUSSIA - JUNE 17, 2019: A BM-1 combat vehicle takes part in live firing exercises for TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower units of the Southern Military District at Tarskoye firing range. Olga Smolskaya/TASS (Photo by Olga Smolskaya\TASS via Getty Images)
A BM-1 combat vehicle takes part in live firing exercises for TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower units, using thermobaric weaponry (Photo by Olga Smolskaya\TASS via Getty Images) (Olga Smolskaya via Getty Images)

The bombs detonate in two stages: first, fuel or dust-like material is dispersed into the air, forming a cloud.

Then the cloud is detonated to create an incredibly powerful shock wave.

The CIA says that such weapons can ‘obliterate’ people near the explosion.

A CIA report says, “Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness.”

Dr Patricia Lewis, Research Director for International Security at Chatham House, told LBC that the wide area of the ignited particles make them 'suck in' oxygen in the first stage of the blast.

The blast from a thermobaric bomb is 'very sustained', Dr Lewis explains, and the weapons have become deadlier as the technology has developed.

The weapons were first developed in the 1960s by both the U.S.A and the Soviet Union, and have been widely used in Afghanistan.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - 2021/08/25: Russian Army TOS-1A
Russian Army TOS-1A "Solntsepyok (Blazing Sun)" multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis (Photo by Leonid Faerberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

A thermobaric bomb dropped by U.S. forces on the Taliban in 2017 left a crater 1,000 feet wide.

Launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime.

There has been no official confirmation that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine.

CNN reported that one of its teams had spotted a Russian thermobaric multiple rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border early on Saturday afternoon.

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