Terrifying footage shows flesh-melting THERMITE RAIN bombs hitting a Ukrainian city as Russia ramps up its barbaric tactics

HORRIBLE new video shows flesh-eating thermite bombs raining down on a Ukrainian village as Putin desperately ramps up his attacks on civilians.

Terrifying footage shows the night sky in the village of Ozerne, Donetsk region, lit by a cool rain of sparkling, flaming thermite – a deadly chemical compound.

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The drone footage was geolocated in Ozerne, which is just a few kilometers from the front lines and was liberated on September 4th.

The horrifying 12-second video was posted to Twitter by Ukrainian MP Roman Hryshchuk, who commented: “This is terrible”.

Experts at the Ukrainian military center claim Russian troops could fire the 9M22S incendiary ammunition, which uses a thermite compound, from their ground positions with BM-21 Grad or BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers as part of their defense strategy.

While thermite can only have a limited effect on military targets, it is a weapon with far-reaching effects.

The new video evidence comes as Vladimir Putin was accused of stepping up attacks on civilians as he lost control in his bloody invasion of Ukraine.

This week, the Ukrainian army announced that it had made huge gains and consolidated positions across the Oskil River, which is the last natural obstacle before the border with Donetsk.

“Panic” of the Russian troops

The Ukrainian counter-offensive – backed by Western-supplied weapons – comes as demoralized Russian troops have withdrawn in “panic” from their positions along the Oskil River, according to local newspaper The Kyiv Independent.

The refugees have left behind hundreds of vehicles and machines and possibly thousands of casualties.

Lawmakers announced this week that soldiers could face 10 years in the Gulag if they desert, surrender or plunder, Ria Novosti wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

A proposal submitted to the Duma said that failure to comply would result in “the military being imprisoned for 2 to 3 years for refusing to take part in hostilities and, if the consequences are serious, imprisonment for 3 to 10 years”.

This new proposal comes as a new wiretapping report released by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate showed that the Russian command in Donetsk Oblast has forbidden its troops to withdraw – under threat of gunfire.

civilian targets

Amid apparent Russian panic, the Defense Ministry released a statement detailing Putin’s aggressive change in the pattern of missile attacks on Ukrainians.

It is reported that Russian military efforts over the past week have intensified attacks on civilians with the aim of “undermining the morale of the Ukrainian people and government,” the defense ministry said.

As in the case of Ozerne, each 9M22S missile carries a 9H510 warhead – composed of 180 incendiary elements used to destroy enemy manpower and equipment through mass fires as well as direct hits.

Thermite, a mixture of metal powder and metal oxide, is used to make incendiary bombs.

It burns at temperatures in excess of 2,400°C – so hot that it can burn through steel and concrete.

And when it comes into contact with human flesh, it can melt to the bone.

war crimes

Human Rights Watch has previously warned that the deadly weapon can cause extremely painful burns on human skin and respiratory problems.

Bombs are extremely dangerous to use as their long range means they cannot be contained on the battlefield – and their effects could hit civilians.

The use of thermite as an incendiary weapon is now considered a war crime.

Its use was banned by the third protocol of the UN Convention on Conventional Arms of 1980 in Geneva.

“It is forbidden under any circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the target of an attack with incendiary weapons,” states Article 2 of the Convention.

This comes less than a week after Ukraine unearthed a mass grave containing over 440 people in the northeastern city of Izyum, which was reclaimed as part of the operation.

Although it has not been confirmed that Russian forces were behind the executions, Ukraine said it was further evidence of “war crimes” committed by Russian forces.

On Monday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This is a lie.”

Kharkiv region governor Oleg Synegubov said on Monday: “Some of the dead show signs of a violent death, there are corpses with their hands tied and signs of torture. Mine blast injuries, shrapnel and stab wounds were also noted among the deceased.”

The vast majority of those found are said to have been civilians, including many children.

annexation prospects

The Russian army has been almost completely driven out of northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region since Ukraine launched its latest counter-offensive to retake territory.

“The Luhansk region is right next door. De crew is not far away,” Haidai wrote on Telegram.

As Russia continues to lose ground, separatist leaders in four Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine have announced plans to hold elections on whether to join Russia.

As part of the Kremlin’s desperate effort to engulf Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbass), Kherson and partially Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia, residents will vote in a move that could “irreversibly” redefine Russia’s borders.

This could be seen as a springboard for Russia to mobilize more personnel should the provinces agree to the annexation.