Russians unleash a thermobaric rocket launcher in Ukraine

Russian forces have been filmed launching thermobaric weapons – which use oxygen from surrounding air to create a high-temperature explosion.

Drone video released by Ukrainian forces appeared to show Russian troops in a convoy firing a thermobaric rocket launcher as they were being ambushed.

The recording showed Russian T-72 tanks and other vehicles on their way to the capital being ambushed by artillery in the town of Brovary, on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv, with some forced to turn back.

An intercepted radio conversation played over the top of the video seemed to reveal that the regimental commander was killed as the column took heavy losses, with vehicles having been destroyed or damaged in the fierce battle.

According to Ukraine’s defence ministry, the officer who died in Brovary was Colonel Andrei Zakharov, commander of the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Military District. A man of the same name was photographed being awarded the Order of Courage by President Vladimir Putin in 2016.

His death, which cannot be independently verified, adds to the toll of Russian commanders killed during the invasion.

Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, 45, the first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army, became the second general to have died in an attack near the besieged city of Kharkiv on Monday.

Western officials believe senior commanders are going further forward into battle to restore momentum among junior ranks during a botched military campaign.

One analyst said the ambushed convoy included the TOS-1A “heavy flamethrower”, an armoured multiple-rocket launcher that fires thermobaric “vacuum bombs”. Thermobaric weapons use oxygen from the surrounding air to create a high-temperature explosion. They also have blast effects that last for longer than a conventional explosive.

Justin Crump, a military analyst from Sibylline, an intelligence and risk analysis consultancy, said: “They are using TOS-1A as expected and as it’s designed for – in close support against defended points or grouped targets.”

He said the operation, understood to have taken place on Thursday, was “well planned and well executed” by the Ukrainians. “Significant damage was caused to Russian command and control.”

The commercial drone recorded the Russian tank column, including the TOS-1A, as it drove down a road towards Kyiv, with several of the vehicles being destroyed as the column entered the village. This forced the column to gather together in a cluster of vehicles that could not leave the road. At this point it is believed that artillery engaged the vehicles.

During the engagement the TOS-1A fired at where it assumed the ambush was taking place, Mr Crump said. It was unclear what the Ukrainian forces were using but they could have been anti-tank weapons, such as Javelin or Nlaw.

Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said it was not clear whether the TOS-1A had been fired or had an accidental discharge, or if it had been another munition. “You typically wouldn’t fire a TOS next to other vehicles like that,” he said.

THE TIMES