Ukraine destroyed a new kind of Russian weapon for the first time

Moscow lost one of its most advanced weapon systems in Ukraine according to a report from an individual involved in assessing Russian equipment losses. So what did Russia lose? An expensive and dangerous TOS-2 Tosochka. 

Moscow stylizes the TOS-2 Tosochka as a thermobaric heavy flamethrower, but it is actually a 220mm multiple rocket launch system (MRLS) that fires thermobaric rockets. This unique type of warhead uses a two-explosion method.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Mike1979 Russia, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

According to BBC News, thermobaric weapon systems contain two explosive systems, the first explosion spreads a fuel cloud over a large area, This fuel cloud can penetrate buildings and any area not sealed off from the mixture. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

A secondary explosion detonates the fuel cloud, which results in a large blast, creating a vacuum that sucks up all the oxygen in the weapon’s blast range, BBC News explained. This makes thermobaric weapons effective against buildings, equipment, and soldiers. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

However, the use of thermobaric weapons is controversial because of its unique effects. There is no international law banning the use of thermobaric weapons but when they are used against large population centers, it could be considered a war crime. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Boevaya Mashina, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

According to the X account Aloha, an open-source intelligence analyst who has worked with the Dutch open-source intelligence group Oryx and WarSpotting database to count and verify Russian equipment losses, Russia just lost its first TOS-2 Tosochka. 

Photo Credit: X @aloha9916

Images published by Aloha on February 16th show the burnt-out remains of a Russian TOS-2 Tosochka sitting somewhere in the Pokrovsk region. Aloha provided no details about how the Russian thermobaric system was destroyed.  

Photo Credit: X @aloha9916

The Ukrainian military website Militarnyi reported that the destroyed TOS-2 Tosochka was geolocated to a position just outside the village of Petrivka in the Pokrovsk district, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the all-too-important Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

Photo Credit: X @aloha9916

Militarnyi also noted that TOS-2 Tosochka systems were first reported to have been spotted in Ukraine in October 2023. However, the recently destroyed system was the time that one of these advanced thermobaric weapons had been proved to be destroyed. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Boevaya Mashina, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

“TOS-2 Tosochka is a modernized version and further development of the TOS-1 Buratino and TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flamethrower systems, which are already in service with the Russian army,” Militarnyi reported. 

Defense Express reported it is unknown how many TOS-2 Tosochka’s Russia has in its arsenal, though the outlet believes the number is small based on the fact that the 2025 ‘Military Balance’ report from The International Institute for Strategic Studies noted Moscow only has 55 TOS-1 Solntsepyok systems. 

According to Army Recognition, the TOS-2 Tosochka was only unveiled to the public in 2020 at the Moscow Victory Day Parade. The system entered service with the Russian Armed Forces in Russia’s Central Military District on January 6, 2021. 

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