In a recent update, a 64-km-long Russian military convoy has been spotted on the north of Kyiv, heading for the capital city. The satellite images produced by Maxar, a US private company, shows amassing of troops and convoy around 40 miles away from Kyiv.
The convoy looks to be way larger than 17 miles (27 km), as was reported earlier. Meanwhile, Russia is being accused of using ‘brutal’ cluster explosives and vacuum bombs in Ukraine. Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador, told reporters on Monday that Russia has used a thermobaric weapon, known as a vacuum bomb. The destruction that Russia is trying to bring on the Ukrainian territory is large, he added.
A vacuum bomb when used, sucks the oxygen from the surrounding area to generate a high-temperature explosion. The blast wave is seriously longer in duration as compared to a conventional explosive.
A report published in a 1993 study carried out by the US Defence Intelligence Agency said that the pressure wave created in the vacuum bomb explosion kills, but more importantly, the successive vacuum ruptures the lungs. If the fuel ignites but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common fuels in Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) are ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, which are highly toxic, undetonated FAE will prove to be as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents.
Mounting pressure on Russia
Meanwhile, Moscow is facing increasing isolation as President Vladimir Putin demonstrated no sign of putting an end to the invasion of Ukraine, where fierce fighting and Russian bombardment have killed more than dozens of civilians as well as soldiers and has sparked a refugee crisis.
With the sanctions imposed on Russia, the Brent oil price has already reached $116 per barrel, which is highest since August 2013. Ruble is losing value with every day as the Russian banks have been cut off the SWIFT system and have been slapped with harsh sanctions.
At the same time, India has issued a new advisory for the Indian trapped in Kyiv. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine Tweeted that all Indian nationals, including students, are advised to leave Kyiv on an urgent basis. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available, the Tweet read.
