Putin’s terrifying thermobaric rocket launchers that ‘explode’ enemy’s lungs ‘used in Ukraine invasion’

TERRIFYING “thermobaric” rockets that can explode enemy troops’ lungs have been used in Ukraine, its government has said. Russia’s TOS-1 Buratino rockets are some of the most deadly non-nuclear weapons that can be deployed on the modern battlefield. TwitterThe Ukrainians have said thermobaric bombs have been used against them[/caption] Twitter/@fpleitgenCNNA TOS-1 rocket launcher on the move near the border with Ukraine[/caption] Getty - ContributorThe weapon is nicknamed Buratino and is a tank-mounted fuel-air explosive[/caption] The TOS-1 launches a rocket carrying a fuel-air explosive (FAE), dubbed the “wall of napalm”. At the weekend one of the fearsome launchers was seen being transported on the back of a lorry near Belgorod in Russia. The weapons are also known as “vacuum bombs” because they suck in the oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a powerful explosion and  Now the Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, has confirmed the weapons have now seen action. “They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention,” she said. Ukraine’s embassy in Lithuanian also posted a video of the aftermath of an attack using one of the weapons. They said the Russian “war criminals used vacuum bombs to hit civilians and oil storage facilities in Ochtyrka, Sumy region”. It comes as Western officials have expressed concern Russia could deploy the devastating weapon amid signs that its advance had been slower than planned in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance. Latest in Ukraine… A little girl, 6, wearing unicorn pyjamas was killed in a Russian airstrike as doctors told reporters ‘show this to Putin‘Ukraine faces a “crucial 24 hours” as officials from Kyiv and Moscow sit down for high level peace talksVladimir Putin shed his geeky image with the help of steroids and extensive plastic surgery to become the brute he is todayThe Russian tyrant has amassed 6000 nuclear weapons as he puts his arsenal on high alertChelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly assisting in the peace processUK defence sec Ben Wallace warned Vladimir Putin’s forces could unleash an “indiscriminate and ruthless” bombing campaignRussia fears a bank run and civil unrest after crushing Western sanctions were imposed over the weekendHeartbreaking scenes show thousands of Ukrainian kids separated from their dads at the borderUkraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being hailed as a hero after he went from being a comedian to a war time leader On official said: “My fear would be that if they don’t meet their timescale and objectives, they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence.” Defence and national security commentator Charlie Gao said: “The Buratino and Solntsepek are very useful weapons for a military that might be going into urban combat with little regard for collateral damage.” The deployment of the TOS-1 comes as Ukrainian forces have repulsed and initial Russian attempt to seize the capital Kyiv have so-far not been successful. Most read in The Sun SPEEDBOAT HORROR Thai star dies after falling from speedboat on restaurant trip with pals DASH & DINE Ronaldo 'whisks Georgina off to exclusive Madrid restaurant' after Watford draw SHOW UP This Morning panic as show is OFF air leaving fans asking 'where's Holly and Phil?' PUTIN BLITZ 'Dozens killed' as Putin begins carpet-bombing civilians after stalled invasion 'SHOW THIS TO PUTIN' Horror pics show girl, 6, in unicorn pyjamas killed in Russian bombing KNIFE EDGE Ukraine faces 'crucial 24 hours' with Russia peace talks as Belarus warns of WW3 Sources in Ukraine have previously shared videos of convoys of TOSs heading for the border. Sharing screengrabs from a TikTok video of the military convoy, PhD student at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London Rob Lee wrote: “Thermobaric troops on the move.” TOS in Russian stands for “heavy flame thrower”. Originally created as a long-range alternative to the handheld flamethrower, the TOS-1 and TOS-1A are designed to kill or crush any soft target in their path. Read our Russia – Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates And the Buratino – a Russian equivalent of Pinnochio – is unique to Russia’s military. The TOS-1’s prominent launch unit – like a long nose – earned it the nickname Pinocchio. The self-propelled multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS) has already deployed by Moscow’s generals in conflicts including Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq, and Syria. Similar to the enormous 240mm 2S4 self-propelled mortar, the TOS-1 is designed to obliterate heavily-fortified positions. Some of its destructive power was demonstrated in the Second Chechnyan War between 1999 and 2000 when the breakaway Russian province’s capital Grozny was razed to the ground. In one incident, a TOS-1 strike killed 37 civilians and wounded over 200 when a city block was razed to the ground. A small explosive inside the FAE munition will spread a chemical cloud through the air like a lethal deodorant spray. This gassy cloud can seep everywhere, into buildings and trenches, before a secondary explosive then ignites the cloud, causing a massive, long-lasting explosion. The fiery blast can kill and maim in truly horrific ways, rendering body armour or hard cover useless. Sebastian Roblin, a military expert, writing for 19fortyfive.com, said: “A TOS-1 rocket barrage will wipe out everything within the 200-by-300m blast zone.” Further from the blast zone, pressure can break bones, dislocate eyes, cause internal haemorrhaging, and rupture eardrums, bowels, and other internal organs. They can also suck the oxygen out of lungs, causing them to collapse, suffocating their victims to death. Twitter/@fpleitgenCNNFears have been raised the weapons are being deployed in the face of Ukrainian resistance[/caption] They have been deployed in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Iraq A blast can incinerate an area 200 by 300m EPAThe TOS-1s destroyed much of the city of Grozny during the Second Chechnyan War[/caption] FAEs were first used by the United States in the Vietnam War when generals claimed napalm wasn’t destructive enough. While napalm weapons spread a sticky, flaming liquid over a wide area, FAEs cause the air itself to detonate. As well as in Vietnam, the US later deployed FAEs in the mountains of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan, as they tried to hunt down Osama bin Laden in the network of caves. They were spotted in a rebel training area in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine as early as 2015, while the Ukrainian government claims they were used in the aerial bombardment that destroyed Donetsk International Airport in January of that year. The TOS-1A “Solntsepek” (Sunshine), is an upgrade of the TOS-1 designed to use longer-range rockets which can hit targets up to 6km away. It also features more armour on the launcher. Elsewhere, pictures show burnt out convoy of Russian trucks, marked with their Z identification number, burnt out after coming under attack. The vehicles were seen near Kherson in the South of Ukraine. The bizarre-looking tanks feature a huge oblong-shaped rack on top, loaded with dozens of lethal incendiary or thermobaric rockets. Meanwhile, air raid sirens tonight rang out over the capital, warning civilians to head to safety ahead of another night of Russian shelling. A city-wide curfew has also been introduced in the capital, while authorities hunt down “sabotage and reconnaissance groups.” And the PM has also promised to crack down on Russian oligarchs funneling dirty money through the UK. And Russia’s central bank was frozen, and banned from the German SWIFT system. Ursula von der Leyen said the measures would “cripple Putin’s ability to finance his war machine. EPASmoke billowed over Vasylkiv on Saturday night[/caption] GettyA Tochka-U missile seen near Donetsk, Ukraine[/caption]