Vladimir Putin has used a deadly vacuum bomb amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, an ambassador has claimed.
The Ukrainian ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova said on Monday the Kremlin had used the bomb during air strikes, reports the Mirror.
The horror weapon is banned by the Geneva convention.
Markarova insisted Russia was looking to bring 'large' devastation to Ukraine.
"They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention," Markarova said after briefing members of the U.S. Congress.
"The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large."
Western officials feared Moscow would begin using such weapons - dubbed the 'father of all bombs' - if their assault on the former fellow Soviet country faltered.
The high-power thermobaric weapons use the atmosphere itself as part of the explosion, vaporising bodies and crushing internal organs.
Developed by both the US and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, they are among the world's most powerful non-nuclear weapons.
In September 2007, Russia detonated the largest one ever made - making it a point of concern for Western forces.
An unnamed official previously told the Daily Star. : "My fear would be that if they don't meet their timescale and objectives they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence.
"They don’t adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and rule of law that Western forces do."
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