The US warned that Russia will tighten its military campaign in Ukraine and said that the Moscow Army is moving cluster and thermobaric bombs, weapons highly criticized for their destructive power.
The United States warned on Wednesday that Russia plans to tighten its military campaign in Ukraine and said the Moscow Army is moving cluster and thermobaric bombs. in the country, weapons highly criticized for their power of destruction.
“We have seen videos of Russian forces bringing exceptionally lethal weapons to Ukraine, which have no place on battlefields. This includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a speech.
According to Thomas-Greenfield, indications are that the Kremlin is “preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign against Ukraine.”
In recent days, various sources have accused Russia of using cluster bombs against civilian areas, something prohibited by international conventions.
In addition, systems with thermobaric ammunition, also known as a fuel bomb or vacuum bomb, have been seen on the ground on social networks and some media, although there are no indications that Russia has used them.
According to human rights organizations, these are indiscriminate and extremely dangerous weapons for the civilian population, since they use a fuel that sucks up the air when burned and is capable of destroying the lungs of people who are in the area.
In 2000, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization denounced that Russia had used this type of weapon in its offensive in Chechnya.
In 2017, the United States also used thermobaric munitions to break the resistance of Islamic State fighters sheltering in caves in Afghanistan.
At a press conference in Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States is “documenting” how Russian attacks in Ukraine are affecting civilians, to make sure Moscow is “accountable for it.” .
The head of US diplomacy accused Moscow of launching “indiscriminate” and possibly “deliberate” attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine.
For its part, President Joe Biden assured journalists that it is “early to say” if Russia is committing war crimes, although he said that “it is clear” that they are deliberately attacking areas of Ukraine where there is a large civilian population.