Russia using ‘brutal’ cluster explosives, vacuum bombs in Ukraine, say rights groups, Ukraine's envoy to US

With the conflict intensifying, Russia has been accused of attacking Ukrainians with cluster explosives and vacuum bombs by human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States on Monday.   

Russian forces seem to have been using widely banned cluster munitions, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.    

After meeting with members of the US Congress, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, told reporters that Russia used a thermobaric weapon, which is known as a vacuum bomb, in the conflict.  

Also Read | Watch: In viral video, little girl appeals for peace, end to Russia-Ukraine conflict. Is anybody listening?

"They used the vacuum bomb today...The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large," Markarova said.  

A vacuum bomb is a thermobaric weapon, which sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion.  

It produces a blast wave of a longer duration than that of a conventional explosive and can vaporise human bodies.  

Also Read | UNGA emergency session: Russia defends Ukraine invasion, countries appeal for peace

There has been no official confirmation about the use of thermobaric weapons in the conflict in Ukraine.  

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that she had seen reports but did not have confirmation about the use. "If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime," she told a briefing.   

Numerous international organisations have condemned these weapons.  

(With inputs from agencies)