Russian soldiers will again use the scandalous thermobaric weapon, which has a destructive effect and is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Dubbed Putin’s “weapon from hell,” the TOS-1 missile launcher uses vacuum bombs that are believed to be twice as deadly, Blick noted.

According to the German publication Merkur, in the video footage of the Russia Today TV channel, several TOS-1 rocket launchers, also called Burationo, can be seen firing vacuum bombs, also known as thermobaric weapons, at the city of Bakhmut.

The video, published by RT, initially shows the shells hitting high-rise apartment buildings, among other things.

In the spring, information appeared that Russia had used such vacuum bombs in the city of Okhtyrka, Sumy region.

Vacuum bombs are prohibited by the Geneva Convention, so their use is considered a war crime.

Russia allegedly used thermobaric weapons during hostilities in Chechnya

On December 27, 1999, Interfax reported that Russian troops used “vacuum bombs” in the battles in Chechnya.

In addition to the explosion effect, thermobaric weapons cause serious damage to internal organs and asphyxiation.

The TOS-1, nicknamed “Pinocchio” after the Russian version of Pinocchio due to its long, pointed nose, is a multiple-launch rocket system with 24,220 mm tubes and one of the most formidable weapons in Russia’s arsenal, writes Euronews.

Thermobaric weapons used in Luhansk

A video released by propagandists purportedly shows Russian troops using a TOS-1 launcher to bomb the town of Novoselyvske northwest of Svatovo Luhansk Oblast, which Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he annexed in September, with a thermobaric weapon.

Some analysts have suggested that this is old footage from another area, Daily Kos reports.

Other Russian propagandists recently shared images of a thermobaric weapon attack in the direction of Vugledar, Donetsk region.

What is a thermobaric weapon?

Thermobaric weapons, also known as overpressure bombs or fuel-air explosives, are a type of munition that works in two stages, The Guardian writes.

The TOS-1 was first used by Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s and more recently in Chechnya and Syria, designed to destroy infantry, bunkers, fortifications and vehicles, but Jean-Marie Collen, an expert and spokesperson for ICAN in France, the French branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons told Euronews that it had been used before.

“The first uses date back to World War II. And it has also been used quite often in wars, unfortunately in Iraq or Afghanistan, most likely as well. Therefore, the use of thermobaric weapons is something that, unfortunately, is used in various conflicts,” said Jean-Marie Collen.

At the first stage, aerosols of very fine material are dispersed – from carbon explosives to metal particles. In the second stage, this cloud of scattered particles ignites, creating a “fireball”, a huge shock wave and a vacuum that can suck all the oxygen out of the surrounding air, which is why they are also called vacuum bombs.

The shock wave created by them can last much longer than that caused by conventional explosives and can incinerate the human body.

They are more powerful than conventional high-explosive munitions of comparable size, are more likely to kill and injure people in bunkers, shelters, and kill and injure particularly violently over a large area.

Human Rights Watch condemned Russia’s use of thermobaric weapons in Chechnya in 2000, warning that their use was a “dangerous escalation” with “significant humanitarian consequences”.

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