Military expert: Thermobaric charge could have been used in Yelenovka | Ukraine and Ukrainians: a view from Europe | DW
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Questions about what exactly happened in the colony in Yelenovka (located in the territory of the Donetsk region not controlled by Kyiv), where on July 29, 2022, more than 50 captured Ukrainian servicemen died as a result of an explosion, do not become less. Moscow accused Kyiv of causing the death of the prisoners a blow delivered to Ukraine from the United States by jet systems salvo fire HIMARS. The APU categorically denies these accusations.
Independent experts cannot get to the scene, although the Russian Defense Ministry said it would allow specialists from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN to enter in the interests of conducting an objective investigation of what happened. However, the ICRC was informed that, as of Sunday evening, 31 July,no access to Yelenovka they still don’t have. About what can be understood from the information that is available today, there was a conversation in the premiere edition of the DW News Show program with Alexander Plushev and Tatyana Felgenhauer. Ukrainian military expert Oleg Zhdanov answered questions from DW columnists.
DW: The Russian side published various videos, including those of the dead and wounded in Yelenovka, photos from the scene of the tragedy. In addition, satellite images of the colony made by the commercial company Maxar Technologies have already been uploaded to the Web. Please tell me what conclusions can be drawn from this visual information?
Oleg Zhdanov: I have very big doubts about the version with shelling. As an artillery officer I will say: there can be no black smoke after the explosions. During the shot – yes, but the explosions themselves are usually accompanied by the release of white smoke. This is the first.
Ukrainian military expert Oleg Zhdanov
Second. During the explosion, the scattering of fragments is observed. And this cloud should have looked like a high-explosive explosion. Here it looks more like internal explosions, in a building, than external ones, penetrating through the roof.
Well, and most importantly: the photos and videos from the inside show that all the beds are in place. And the bodies lie where the beds are. With a high-explosive explosion, beds and bodies should have been scattered in all corners of the building. It was supposed to knock out windows, rip off the roof and, if there were several explosions, perhaps there would be destruction of the building itself, cracks in the walls. And the entire sooty wall that we are shown on the video should be dotted with hundreds of fragments that are formed as a result of a high-explosive explosion. But the plaster on the wall is absolutely intact.
– Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak wrote on his Twitter that the Russian side could have detonated thermobaric charges inside the building. What is their effect, and do we see traces of this impact now, based on the information that we already know?
– I guess, yes. Thermobaric ammunition gives a volumetric explosion and burns out oxygen in the process. Therefore, the main type of injury that a person receives is a rupture of internal organs caused by exposure to a shock wave. In addition, there is a strong fire at the site of the explosion and there is no oxygen for breathing. This effect creates a thermobaric ammunition,in the common people called “vacuum”.
– Suppose experts from the Red Cross and the UN sooner or later get to the scene of the tragedy. After such an amount of time, when the bodies were taken away, some fragments of rockets were brought, is it possible to reliably draw any conclusions on the spot, to understand what happened?
– I think yes. If the specialists are experienced, especially if they allow forensic experts there, then they, for example, can take carbon deposits from the walls and determine the type of explosive that was used there. This is the most important, because it will help determine what type of explosion was and what kind of ammunition was used. After all, the filling of different ammunition is different, and the production of TNT is different.
The only thing I think is that the Red Cross can conduct such an investigation. Because Ukraine has a positive experience when ICRC experts investigated tragedy near Ilovaisk and proved that our wounded were finished off after they were deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves on the battlefield. I mean the shooting of our troops in the so-called “green corridor” in 2014.
But I very much doubt the UN experts. Especially because of the position of the UN Secretary General himself and his friendship with Putin.
See also:
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Civilian targets in sight
In more than five months of a full-scale war, Russia has dealt many blows to Ukrainian civilian targets. Schools, hospitals, shopping centers, streets and squares, residential areas became the target of rockets, aerial bombs, artillery shells. The number of those killed and wounded in these attacks runs into the thousands.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Horror of Vinnitsa
On July 14, a rocket attack was delivered on one of the central squares of Vinnitsa. Residential buildings, the House of Officers, and an office building were damaged. 24 people died, including three children: a four-year-old girl and two boys, aged 7 and 8. 182 victims applied for help. The Russian Federation stated that the target was the House of Officers, where allegedly “a meeting of the command of the Ukrainian Air Force with foreign arms suppliers” was held.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Five-story building in Chasovoy Yar
The city of Chasov Yar in the territory of the Donetsk region controlled by Kyiv was shelled on the evening of July 9. The missile of the Iskander complex, originally designed to destroy well-defended strategic objects, hit residential buildings. The entrance of one high-rise building – a hostel – completely collapsed, another house was badly damaged. The bodies of 48 victims were recovered from the rubble, including a 9-year-old boy.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Recreation center in Odessa region
On the night of July 1, the Russian army fired three X-22 cruise missiles at the Belgorod-Dnestrovsky district of the Odessa region. Two rockets hit the popular resort village of Sergeevka, destroying two recreation centers, one of which belonged to Moldova. Another rocket almost completely destroyed one of the sections of a five-story residential building. 22 people were killed, 30 were injured, including three children.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Shopping center in Kremenchuk
On June 27, Tu-22M3 bombers of the Russian Air Force launched Kh-22 cruise missiles at Kremenchug. According to the version of the Russian Defense Ministry, the blow was delivered “on hangars with weapons and ammunition received from the United States and European countries” in the area of the Kredmash plant. One of the rockets destroyed the factory greenhouses and one of the workshops, the second hit the Amstor shopping and entertainment center, where hundreds of people were. 21 people died.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Shelling of the railway station in Kramatorsk
On April 8, at the time of the rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, hundreds of people were waiting for evacuation on its territory. 61 people were killed, including seven children, and dozens were injured. The Tochka-U missile was fired from the territory of the so-called “DPR”. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that there were no missiles of this type in service with Russia, which was refuted by international investigators.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Drama theater in Mariupol
On March 16, Russian aircraft destroyed the drama theater in the center of Mariupol by dropping heavy air bombs on the building. The people who were there were not saved by the word “Children”, written in huge white letters in front and behind the building. According to various sources, from 300 to 600 people died. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the theater was not bombed, and the explosion was the result of a provocation by fighters from the Azov regiment, who destroyed the building from the inside.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Children’s hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol
On March 9, Russian troops launched an airstrike on a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital in the center of Mariupol. As a result, 5 people died, including a pregnant woman with a child. At least 17 people were injured. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a completely “staged provocation.” The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the hospital served as a stronghold for militants who expelled medical staff and women in labor from the building.
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Regional administration of Nikolaev
On March 29, an air strike hit the building of the regional administration of Nikolaev. As a result of a rocket hit, the central section of the building from the 1st to the 9th floors was completely destroyed. The fire didn’t happen. The explosion also damaged several nearby residential and administrative buildings. 36 people died. 34 bodies were pulled out from under the rubble, two more wounded later died in the hospital.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Regional administration of Kharkiv
On March 1, Russian missiles hit the building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. As a result, ceilings were destroyed, windows were broken, and the roof was damaged. In total, 24 people died as a result of the strike, and about ten more were injured. The victims were not only people who were inside the building, most of which was destroyed, but also those who were passing by at the time of the impact.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
Number of civilian casualties
According to the UN, from the beginning of hostilities to July 12, 5,100 Ukrainian civilians have been confirmed dead, 346 of whom are children. The number of wounded civilians exceeded 6,500. The real number of civilian casualties is likely much higher, a UN official said.
The largest Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine
War crimes
According to the Geneva Conventions, war crimes that do not have a statute of limitations include, among other things, “deliberate attacks against the civilian population”, “attacking or shelling towns, villages, dwellings or buildings that are not protected and not military purposes, using any there was money.” Punishment of those guilty of war crimes is within the competence of the International Criminal Court.
