Russia claims to have killed large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers with a destructive “vacuum bomb” – a claim Ukraine quickly called absurd.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was told during a meeting that up to 300 soldiers were killed “as a result of a precision strike from an aerial munition,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told CNN that the allegations were “absolutely absurd and propaganda, much like Russian information about the murder of 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk and Belgorod regions yesterday.”
A CNN could not independently verify the incident.
Colonel-General Alexei Kim did not indicate where the attack took place, but described the location of the attack as the “deployment point of the nationalist 'Kraken' formation,” according to the ministry, referring to a special unit of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.
Kim said a “volumetric detonation bomb” was used in the airstrike, RIA Novosti reported on Saturday.
Volumetric weapons are also known as “vacuum bombs”, thermobaric weapons or “air/fuel” bombs.
The destruction caused by a thermobaric weapon is caused by the blast wave it creates and also by the vacuum resulting from the air/fuel mixture that sucks in oxygen to sustain detonation, according to the US Military Academy's Lieber Institute of Law and War.
The force of such an explosion is enough to collapse buildings and rupture organs. Walls or even caves do not offer protection, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
Details of the Russian airstrike emerged during a meeting at the Joint Group of Forces headquarters, where Shoigu heard reports from commanders about the current situation in the “special military operation zone,” the ministry said, Russia's phrase for its war on Ukraine.
Kim also did not mention when the attack was carried out, but noted that “just last week, as a result of effective work of reconnaissance and strike systems, three American Patriot complexes, a Vampire multiple rocket launcher, more than 10 missiles of Russian-made foreign. artillery systems and fuel and ammunition depots were destroyed,” according to the ministry.
Kim also told Shoigu during the meeting that Ukraine is “suffering significant losses in both equipment and manpower as a result of the use of high-precision weapons and attack drones,” the ministry said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
