this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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Newly released footage shows Russian forces striking a Ukrainian town, using what pro-Kremlin sources have claimed is one of the most potent non-nuclear weapons in the world.

On Tuesday morning, videos began circulating on Russian and Ukrainian media of a "vacuum bomb" being dropped on the town of Vovchansk in the country's northeastern Kharkiv Oblast.

Ukrainian news agency InsiderUA posted the video to its Telegram channel, citing Russian military bloggers who said that the bomb was the ODAB-9000, a three-ton glide bomb sometimes referred to as "the father of all bombs."

A thermobaric or "vacuum" bomb draws in oxygen to generate intense, high-temperature combustions. According to the International Review of the Red Cross, an international law-focused academic journal produced by the humanitarian organization, the use of thermobaric weapons in built-up, civilian areas could constitute a war crime.

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[–] davel@lemmy.ml 21 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I knew about MOAB but not FOAB, which is four times more powerful?!

[–] CptEnder@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's definitely skeptical. The MOAB was designed to literally collapse parts of mountains. This doesn't really look like a similar result.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

If you can see buildings still standing right next to the blast like this, then it was just a glorified pipe bomb. Dont get me wrong its fucked up anyways, but it just really looks like a fairly tiny explosion.

[–] shapesandstuff@feddit.org 8 points 3 weeks ago

Seems either unremarkable/not new or fudged

Weapons analyst Sascha Lange of German SWP speaking at Deutsche Welle pointed out multiple discrepancies in the released Russian video and expressed his skepticism about the Russian claim

Same source as you linked.

Its a big ol thermobaric, which sucks but isn't ground breaking (except literally lol)