What is a thermobaric weapon?
As Russia continues its horrific actions in Ukraine, Putin stands accused of using a devastating weapon known as a thermobaric bomb.
These devastating weapons are capable of vaporising human bodies and reducing buildings to rubble.
They work by sucking in oxygen from the surrounding air to create a more powerful high-temperature explosion.
As well as an increased blast, a so-called ‘vacuum bomb’ produces a large supersonic pressure wave.
They are also known as fuel-air weapons, or gas-air weapons. They are the most powerful non-nuclear weapons it is currently possible to make.
Because of their destructive power, they are rarely used. But it’s been alleged that Putin has used them against Ukraine.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told reporters after meeting with White House lawmakers on Monday that they have been deployed during the ongoing incursion.
She said: ‘They used the vacuum bomb today. The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.’
How does a vacuum bomb work?
Both the United States and the Soviet Union developed thermobaric bombs in the 1960s.
A regular explosive uses a process called oxidation in a confined region to create an explosion. The weapon mixes the explosive fuel with an oxidizer to create the blast. However, a thermobaric bomb consists of almost 100 percent fuel.
It uses the oxygen in the surrounding air as an oxident that results in a far larger explosion.
However, because it relies on the air around it – the kind of yield from a vacuum bomb can vary.
The explosion will depend on how well the fuel is dispersed, how rapidly it mixes with the surrounding atmosphere and the initiation of the igniter and its position relative to the container of fuel.
Similarly, thermobaric bombs can’t be used in certain weather conditions, at high altitutes or underwater.
But they can be exceptionally deadly in urban or battlefield warfare.
They can also be fitted to both vehicular and hand-held rocket launchers.
Are thermobaric bombs illegal?
Although not specifically illegal, the use of vacuum bombs and cluster munitions (which release smaller amounts of schrapnel over a wider area) is widely condemned.
Amnesty International say international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons – such as cluster munitions.
The organisation saus launching any indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime.
More than 100 countries have committed never to use the weapons under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the UK – but neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the agreement.
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said: ‘It is stomach-turning to see an indiscriminate attack on a nursery and kindergarten where civilians are seeking safe haven.
Is Russia using thermobaric bombs against Ukraine?
Reports claim TOS-1 rocket launchers capable of firing thermobaric weapons have been spotted among Russian troops.
One Western official said their presence is a cause for ‘considerable concern’, the Independent reports.
The official added: ‘Certainly, if it is used in any built-up area, there is no way you can eradicate the risk of significant civilian casualties.’
There has been no official confirmation that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine and Ms Markarova did not reveal where the bomb she referred to was used.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had also seen reports of them being unleashed, adding: ‘If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime.’
Pavel Kuzmenko, the mayor of Akhtyrka, a small city northwest of Kharkhiv, claimed a vacuum bomb had been dropped on an oil depot there.
He said: ‘A vacuum bomb has been dropped on an oil storage depot, containers with oil have been torn off. The enemy vilely uses vacuum bombs banned by the Geneva Convention.’
See more here: msn.com
Header image: TASS
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Nomis
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Please, could we not have the NATO propaganda on this site.
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denis dombas
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this is propaganda and out of all people you should know that, who ever wrote this article? Anybody remember Cuban crises ?Here we have same situation where evil empire US and NATO were trying to instal bases in Ukraine ,besides 11 bioweapon labs that they had there,Russia had no choice!
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Max DeLoaches
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As a matter of incontrovertible fact, Putin said “I’ll never join your new world order” earlier this year… and then attacked the country harboring the agents of globalists from team NATO, team Europe, team USA and the millions who are conditioned to say what the Legacy Media wants you to say.
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JaKo
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Thermobaric weapons were first commonly used in the Vietnam war.
*For the too young to remember: Vietcong was the beneficiary, not applicator.
*For the Mass Formed: Vlad Putin was not of the legal age to make any pertinent decisions yet.
BTW:
A few-ton TBW on a hypersonic delivery platform is worse than a small yield nuclear; as it is still a “legal conventional weapon,” yet has, take away the radiation, the same destructive and killing effect. That is why it is so vilified by the MoT (aka Minitrue) now, when used by the Grand Villain Forces of Euro-Asia against our friendly neo-Nazis…
Cheers, JaKo
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Ash
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Maybe this site can report the 7 years of the Donbass being shelled by the Ukrainian army (killing 10,000s of civilians -russian heritage)
Why do I have to read this information on Chinese/Asiatic websites and can’t find a mere mention on European websites?
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Howdy
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Didn’t even know about it Ash, Didn’t find any Chinese sites tho.
https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/22/history-donbas-donetsk-luhansk/.
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Ash
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It would seem people in the West have information kept from them..
A quick search (10 seconds) and first article
https://mil.sina.cn/2022-03-04/detail-imcwiwss4198752.d.html?from=wap
I find it very unfortunate that Chinese readers are permitted a much more neutral viewpoint with more information than anyone in Europe/America
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Howdy
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“with more information than anyone in Europe/America”
Since I don’t read Chinese, I wouldn’t know, and also, since I don’t read Chinese, I don’t include such results in my search parameters, nor any language I don’t understand. Pictures are all very well, but without context, not very usefull.
The site you posted also wishes to use a none standard port: 8001. One of the uses of this port is malware. In fact:
Backdoor.Graybird.D [Symantec-2003-062811-4412-99] is a variant of Backdoor.Graybird. This Trojan Horse gives its creator unauthorized access to your computer. The existence of the file, Svch0st.exe, is an indication of a possible infection.
https://www.speedguide.net/port.php?port=8001
Very clever, but that junk won’t work on me. I advise everybody to steer clear of the Chinese link.
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Ash
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Okay sure man.. searching “donbass news” in the Chinese language has sites like this..
(One of the first to pop up right after the Chinese version of the BBC)
Believe what you want
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Howdy
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“Believe what you want”
I certainly will.
Simply, when I’m on a Chinese site, and a Norway IP tries to connect using a specific port, that may have legit use, yet also has been used for nefarious purposes, It gives me cause for concern. Nobody else need pay attention to anything I post.
Squidly
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@Howdy – You have something listening to port 8001? .. why? .. It doesn’t matter what port you use to connect to them either. The TCP port is irrelevant. Unless you have something that will listen to a given TCP/UDP port on your client machine, and has the ability to act upon those TCP/UDP requests, then there isn’t much anyone is going to be able to do to you. Just because you access a site through a given TCP port address doesn’t magically give them some sort of “backdoor” into your computer. If they could they would be able to do the same through port 80 or 443 just as well as any of the 65,536 available ports on your computer.
Sheeesh, I wish people would gain some basic understanding of how computers and network communications work.
I see people say these same things as you and then turn around and use applications like TikTok, Zoom and other nefarious Chinese produced applications .. [just shaking my damn head].
Howdy
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@ Squidly
You are wrong.
The external site tried to make an UNSOLICITED connection to my machine on a non-secure connection using a port that is a known attack vector, without my machine first making the request.
“You have something listening to port 8001?”
No, my firewall is in stealth mode. AKA, invisible to external machines.
Anybody who understands firewall use knows your own machine is the first outgoing connection made, unless you set it up otherwise. Anything else is unsolicited and an attempt to make an incoming connection. Why do you think my firewall flagged it in the first place?
“If they could they would be able to do the same through port 80 or 443 just as well as any of the 65,536 available ports on your computer.”
What about reserved ports?
By your logic, a port scan is of no consequence because the ports are standard use, except it is not normal behaviour, and my firewall drops them by default.
“Just because you access a site through a given TCP port address doesn’t magically give them some sort of “backdoor” into your computer”
You don’t realize that malware writers are very talented then? They use standard ports and practices.
Didn’t you read my first comment properly? The site I was on was not the problem. An external IP was.
“I see people say these same things as you and then turn around and use applications like TikTok, Zoom and other nefarious Chinese produced applications .. [just shaking my damn head].”
I see you have a very high opinion of yourself. Regardless, don’t insult my intelligence.
Just for your information: OPNsense firewall blocks all incoming connections by default unless initiated by my machine. PFsense too, last time I used It. Are they also dumb, closet tiktokers too?
Sheesh!
Karen Moore
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Could it be that Putin is using these weapons on the US boi-labs in Ukraine?
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richard
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What was that massive bomb the US used in the illegal war in Iraq?
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JaKo
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I’m not sure of the Operation Iraqi Liberation, but MOAB was used in Afghanistan…
You can also look-up FOAB…
Cheers, JaKo
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GaRY Ashe
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The perfect weapon for bombing and incinerating bio labs and all the airborne stuff that would otherwise escape and possible cause millions of death or wipe out whole species.
However i never thought i would be reading globalist propaganda here on this site, who ever the author is needs castrated.
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JaKo
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You’re correct — theoretically. The actual sites with all the people — from the night guards to the principal scientists — are far more valuable than a scorched earth…
Cheers, JaKo
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