Russia has unleashed a deadly “vacuum bomb” after Ukrainian forces entered Vladimir Putin‘s backyard, according to reports.
The strongman leader’s troops are said to have deployed a thermobaric weapon against Ukrainian invaders in the Kursk region. The devastating munitions, also known as aerosol bombs, are known for intense heat and pressure capable of vaporising human bodies.
It comes after Ukraine took the years-long war across the Russian border, prompting its enemy to respond with what it called a “counter-terrorism” operation. As many as 76,000 people have already been evacuated from nearby homes, the Tass news agency reported.
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(Image: Governor of Kursk Region/AFP via)
According to Sky News, the use of the powerful “vacuum bomb” came as the Russian Army conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces. The broadcaster did not say exactly where it had exploded, but Ukrainian officials claimed Thermobaric weapons were previously dropped in February 2022.
The Russian Government has introduced emergency powers to relocate residents, control phone communications and requisition vehicles. The measures will also apply in the neighbouring Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
Earlier this week, Putin called the Ukrainian incursion a “large-scale provocation”. In a meeting with officials, he ordered a response to what he called “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses [and] ambulances with different types of weapons.”
The area of fighting in the country’s southwestern Kursk region is about 320 miles from Moscow. In a late night address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said its military was “pushing into the aggressor’s territory”.
(Image: Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty I)
He did not mention the Kursk region by name but thanked “warriors” on the frontline. “Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor,” he said.
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