British military officials say Russia has confirmed the use of so-called vacuum bombs in its military campaign against Ukraine.
Officially known as thermobaric bombs, the weapons are considered much more devastating than similarly sized conventional explosives.
Thermobaric bombs disperse an explosive material as a vapor cloud that uses oxygen in the atmosphere as fuel when detonated. The high-temperature blast wave that follows can crush buildings and vaporize people in the vicinity, analysts say.
“The Russian (Ministry of Defense) has confirmed the use of the TOS-1A weapon system in Ukraine,” British military officials tweeted Wednesday. “The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects.”
Though their use is controversial, thermobaric bombs are not illegal. The United States used such weapons in Afghanistan to destroy cave complexes in the mountains where Taliban fighters hid.
Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly used Russian-made thermobaric weapons in their civil war.
Human Rights Watch has condemned the use of the weapons in the past.
“Because enhanced blast weapons cover a wide area, they are prone to indiscriminate use, especially in or near populated areas,” the human rights group said in a statement. “In urban settings, it is very difficult to limit the effect of (them on) combatants, and the nature of enhanced blast weapons makes it virtually impossible for civilians to take shelter from their destructive effect.”