What type of munitions would produce this result?

[EarthFirst]

Translation: Powerful explosion in Cherkasy region

Link to tweet

[WarGamer]

1. sure as hell looked thermobaric.

[Happy Hoosier]

3. It sure as F*** did.... NT

[Celerity]

5. was my first guess as well

[usajumpedtheshark]

7. Are those similar to BLEVE explosions?

That one looked like the BLEVEs I have seen in various videos

[WarGamer]

11. yes

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Not Merely Similar

They are a BLEVE.
It's a properly engineered flammable gas, heavier than air, which is dispersed through a venturi nozzle to draw air & create a high velocity mix.
The gas (which can explode at 100%) is idealized at 12-20% in air. Maximum burn velocity & 100% efficiency both achieved. This creates a huge cloud.
A priming charge smaller than a handgrenade goes off and sets of the cloud.
My only doubt in calling this an FA device is that the source appears to be too low to the ground. I don't see the fireball going down, only up.
Could be a bad perspective from the camera shot.
Could also be a standard incendiary device, as well.
Can't be sure from this video.

[WarGamer]

2. I only understood... "Aww fuck me!"

[LakeArenal]

4. Yikes that's scary.

[haele]

6. Hit on a fertilizer factory?

Unless it was one of the TO-1s getting hit. Which I hope were being hunted down and targeted for destruction.

Haele

[WarGamer]

9. probably not.

If a To-1 was hit, there'd be multiple explosions going off.

Plus I'm not sure if a thermobaric warhead destroyed on the ground would explode like that seeing that they aerosolize in the atmosphere to produce the desired explosion.

It's like a bucket of wheat grain. throw a match in the bucket and it'll burn slowly. Throw it in the air and light it, BOOM. Confirmed by Mythbusters.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. It Can Detonate On The Ground

The chemical agent used to detonate does not have an upper explosive level. (UEL)
A 100% concentration of the gas will detonate at around 65% energy at about 80% of velocity.
But, this chemical does not need to be dispersed to explode.
I've done plenty of lab work with it. It is treated with tremendous respect, both in the lab & in industry.
It has fairly high health risks & is EXTREMELY flammable & reactive.
Yet, that molecule is used to build the proper molecule for nearly every shampoo. (The risks are long gone at that point.)
If it went off on the ground, it explains why there's no clear downward rush of flame. As an airburst, the fire ball should grow upward & downward at the same rate. Doesn't look like that in the video. Nearly all the fireball is out & up.
I've seen an intentionally detonated BLEVE at an explosive safety conference. In the desert, at night. Will get one's attention!

[Disaffected]

29. What is the chemical

you are referring to? I'm trying to think of a gas that will detonate at 100% but can only think of possibly acetylene.

[ProfessorGAC]

30. Ethylene Oxide. (C2H4O)

Very common industrial chemical. Treated like nitroglycerin in the industry.
It's a cyclic ether.
Cannot transport by tank truck. Rail only. And, some routes are restricted because a railyard needs to have deluge monitors & blast berms. All railyards don't have that.
BTW: acetylene does have a very high UEL. Over 80%.
Unlike EO, it doesn't carry it's own oxygen. With no intrinsic oxygen, it cannot combust at 100%.
At 100% EO, combustion energy is not fully released because only one carbon converts to carbon monoxide, rather than both carbons converted to 2 carbon dioxides. But, the ether linkage is still broken, so it's not under 50% energy release. Closer to 2/3rds.
Acetylene is also highly reactive, but for different mechanistic reasons.

[Disaffected]

31. OK, thanks

Last edited Sun Feb 27, 2022, 10:04 PM - Edit history (1)

100% acetylene cannot combust alright but is it unstable (and therefore cannot be stored as a compressed gas but has to be dissolved in acetone or some-such liquid for welding purposes)?

It also has a v high heat of combustion so I wonder why it is not a candidate for such weapons (or maybe it is?)?

[ProfessorGAC]

33. Very Reactive

What you call unstable, I describe as reactive.
Unstable in organic chemistry suggests an inherent inability to maintain molecular integrity even without the influence if any outside agent.
Reactive substances can be stable. Until they come into contact with something willing to share electrons. (Or maybe not so willing.). They're inherently stable but can react with other things violently with little to no added energy of activation.
Acetylene & EO have almost identical heats of combustion.
But, acetylene carries a vapor pressure a few hundred time high than EO.
So, creating a lingering cloud becomes nearly impossible due to the rapid expansion of the mass front. Equilibrium would rapidly bring the concentration under the LEL.
EO has the advantage of modest vapor pressure under typical ambient conditions, so expansion, and subsequent concentration in air, is much more controllable & predictable.
EO also has a higher vapor density, so the cloud tends to continue lingering and falling prior to detonation.
EO just happens to be the perfect compound for such a weapon.
That's why it's such serious business to work with for far more beneficial purposes.

[Disaffected]

38. Thank for the explanation.

I do appreciate though the difference between unstable and reactive and I believe acetylene is "unstable" as it can spontaneously decompose with little or no outside influence (which is why it is not stored under pressure as a gas or liquid but dissolved at quite low pressure in acetone - for example for welding purposes ).

BTW, the heat of combustion of acetylene (21,463 BTU/lb) is about double that of ethylene oxide (11,480) - (due primarily to its carbon triple bond IIRC and, why it makes a good welding gas).

[WarGamer]

32. that must have been an experience of a lifetime!! nt

[ProfessorGAC]

34. I've Seen Many Explosions

For similar reasons. I also was a consultant on the decommissioning of an arsenal. (Best.part.time.job.ever!)
But, that BLEVE was very different! The fireball lasts a really long time compared to a high explosive.
It's a pushing, not fracturing detonation. High pressure, high volume but limited brisance.
The sound wasn't a crack, it was a roar/whooshing sound, and we could feel the pressure. It was pressure, not a concussion. And it lasted noticeably longer. And we were 500 yards away!
At night, it was both awesome & frightening.
I was always super careful working with it. I got even more careful after that!

[WarGamer]

35. yikes...

[Saboburns]

8. Secondary explosion

Meaning that the ordnance hit something very big and flammable.

Like perhaps a tank farm.

[Nevilledog]

12. Wonder is this was the gas pipeline that was hit

[sheshe2]

10. That was frightening!

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

13. Looks like a bleve

Likely a fuel storage tank got hit or gas line got hit.

[intrepidity]

14. I wonder if it was directed at the Kremenchuk Reservoir?

Cherkasy is situated on the high right bank of the Dnipro River, in the middle of the Kremenchuk Reservoir. Relief of the historical part of the city was influenced by Zamkova (Castle) mountain, where Cherkasy Castle was situated.[4][5] The major part of Cherkasy occurs as lowlands.

The city occupies an area of 69 km2 (26.6 sq mi). The city's length is 17 km (10.56 mi) along the Kremenchuk Reservoir, while its widest point is only 8 km (4.97 mi).

From the north-west, Cherkasy is surrounded by forest. Known as Cherkaskiy Bir, it is the biggest (28,500 hectares or 70,400 acres) natural pine forest in Ukraine.[6]

[chocolatpi]

18. The reservoir is a major concern.imo

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. Reports are saying that's an ammo depot.

[WarGamer]

16. the atmospheric shock wave was hellacious

[MiniMe]

17. There is nothing showing up for me

And if I click on the tweet, it says it doesn't exist

[Marius25]

19. Ammo depot, fertilizer plant.

Remember how big the explosion was in Beirut?

[chocolatpi]

20. "Page Removed"?

[Kali]

22. "sorry that tweet has been deleted"

[Nevilledog]

24. Tweet deleted, but looks like it was an ammunition depot.

Link to tweet

[edhopper]

25. Tweet

Has been removed

[Celerity]

26. here is the YouTube vid

[EarthFirst]

27. Thanks.

I’m just checking back in; didn’t realize the original Tweet had been deleted.

[Celerity]

28. yw

[BlackSkimmer]

36. Why was the tweet deleted?

I’m leery of all this Twitter “news.”

[chowder66]

37. Fake Video per Chairman of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration

Link to tweet