WASHINGTON – Russia has dropped thermobaric bombs in Ukraine, demonstrating the “devastation” that Moscow is seeking, the Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, said on Monday after holding meetings in the United States Congress to explain the situation in her country in the midst of the Russian invasion.
At the end of the meetings with senators of both parties, Markarova denounced the use of these thermobaric bombs, also known as vacuum bombs, which cause high-temperature explosions by Russian forces, although she did not provide details on where they would have been used.
The diplomat stressed that these types of weapons “are prohibited by the Geneva Convention” so that his employment underlines that the “devastation” that Russia is seeking in Ukraine is “great”, according to statements collected by the American network Fox.
Markarova therefore requested more weapons and military assistance after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Saturday the approval of $ 350 million dollars in additional equipment for Ukraine, including portable Javalin anti-tank missiles.
After the meeting, the U.S. senators stressed Washington’s commitment to Ukraine.
“Proud to speak with Ambassador Markarova and tell her that the Senate will continue to support and accelerate lethal assistance to Ukraine, and keep up the pressure on (President Russian Vladimir) Putin to put an end to this unjustified war”, said Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
After months of tension, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine five days ago that has left at least 102 killed and 304 civilians injured, according to the United Nations Office for Human Rights, although the Ukrainian authorities raise the death toll to 352.
What’s more, 422,000 Ukrainians have had to leave their country, to which must be added more than 100,000 internally displaced persons, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (Acnur) .