Putin deploys a ‘poor man’s nuclear bomb’ capable of vaporizing victims and shredding their lungs

Vladimir Putin has agreed to use a deadly flamethrower known as the “poor man’s nuclear weapon” in his private army.

The heavy thermobaric flamethrower TOS-1A Solntsepek is designed for the complete destruction of fortifications, armored vehicles and enemy manpower, destroying all people nearby.

The weapon is capable of vaporizing anything within 300 feet, rupturing lungs and leaving no hope of survival with an explosion temperature of up to 3000°C.

Thermobaric ammunition has been described as “the most terrifying”. [conventional] weapon of the world” and was called “a poor man’s nuclear weapon” by retired US Colonel David Johnson.

The deadly ammunition can be air-dropped or loaded into a rocket and used as artillery.

Video has now emerged showing the weapon being used in Ukraine by ragtag members of the Wagner Group, a Russian army of far-right mercenaries loyal to Putin.

The gruesome video, captured by a nearby drone, shows Wagner troops using the artillery version of the weapon to hit Ukrainian troops in Artemovsk and its suburbs, according to state media outlet RIA Novosti.

The first explosive charge opens the jerry can and spreads the fuel mixture like a deadly cloud, creating a fiery mist that penetrates holes in buildings or unsealed defenses.

A second charge then detonates the fuel cloud, creating a massive fireball, a massive blast wave and a vacuum that sucks out all the surrounding oxygen.

Victims of the gruesome weapon can die from the blast or accompanying shock wave, while the resulting vacuum causes victims to die an agonizing death by rupturing their lungs.

Russia’s Defense Ministry TV channel Zvezda has in recent days given prominence to the flamethrower using thermobaric bombs – also known as vacuum or aerosol bombs or fuel-air explosives.

The deadly weapon has “proven its worth” in Ukraine, Zvezda’s 38-minute TV report boasted.

The warhead was created in a secret laboratory called the Institute of Applied Chemistry in Sergiev Posad, Moscow region.

A source told the ultra-loyal news agency RIA FAN: “These weapons are considered the most terrible, there are no analogues in any country in the world.

“Americans even tried to ban it, not because it really is a weapon of mass destruction, but because Americans can’t do such a thing.”

Wagner is led by billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, a notorious war criminal and one of Putin’s closest allies.

It is estimated that there are up to 35,000 prisoners fighting or training for the war in Ukraine.

When asked what his recruits should do with Ukrainian prisoners, Prigozhin replied: “Do with them what you will – torture them or slit their throats.”

Separately, he was quoted as saying, “I have special powers from the president [Putin].

“I don’t care about anyone, I have to win this goddamn war at all costs.”

Earlier this week, Prigozhin reportedly said he wanted to set up a separate ward at Wagner for prisoners who had been raped in prison, to ensure that other convicted soldiers wouldn’t have to serve with such “untouchable outcasts.”

He also criticized the poor performance of Putin’s regular forces.

One prisoner related how Prigozhin said during a recruiting session that “the army of the Ministry of Defense is completely useless”.

Their troops “drink, do drugs and don’t want to fight”.

They present their defeats as “regroupings”. [Wagner] I’m fine,” the defendant said.

“That’s why he now needs people who are imprisoned for murder and robbery.

“He said he would probably be back for the rapists in November.”

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