In a striking display of ingenuity, Ukrainian fighters have reportedly turned a Toyota Mirai hydrogen car into a makeshift hydrogen bomb to use against Russian forces. The transformation of this electrified vehicle into a weapon occurred as part of a July counteroffensive in Vovchansk, in northern Ukraine, according to Euromaidan Press, a pro-Western Ukrainian outlet.
The situation unfolded after Russian forces failed in an offensive south of Vovchansk and retreated to an aggregate plant overlooking the town. Ukrainian forces, nearly encircling the position, faced a dilemma: they lacked the firepower needed to launch a direct assault. Reduced foreign military aid made airstrikes impossible, and conventional drones couldn’t deliver a large enough payload. Faced with these challenges, the Ukrainians turned to an unconventional source for constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs): electrified vehicles.
Ukrainian fighters have been scavenging parts from various makes of vehicles, including Teslas, to create homebrew suicide drones and other remote-operated vehicles. However, electronic countermeasures complicated the use of airborne drones, so the Ukrainians opted for a land-borne delivery system. This time, they constructed a more than 440-pound explosive device using the Toyota Mirai’s hydrogen fuel cell.
The Mirai’s hydrogen tank, a crucial component, weighs about 115 lbs and stores over 12 lbs of hydrogen at a staggering 10,000 psi, equivalent to the pressure 22,500 feet underwater. The hydrogen’s potential energy is immense—33.6 Wh/kg or approximately 677.6 megajoules for the entire tank, comparable to 357 lbs of TNT. Combined with an undisclosed amount of plastic explosives designed to pierce the tank, the Ukrainians managed to create a formidable makeshift bunker buster, demonstrating resourcefulness in their ongoing fight against Russian invaders. This inventive use of technology marks yet another chapter in the complex and brutal conflict in Ukraine.