Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow accused of attacking Bakhmut with phosphorus bombs

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Russia has been accused by Ukraine of using phosphorus munitions to attack the besieged city of Bakhmut.

Ukraine's military released drone footage in which Bakhmut was ablaze as what looked like white phosphorus was raining down on the city.

There is no ban on using white phosphorus weapons, but the use of such munitions in civilian areas falls under the category of “war crimes”.

White phosphorus bombs result in fast-spreading fires which are difficult to control. Russia has even earlier faced accusations of using the white phosphorus munitions.

For months, Russia has been tirelessly making attempts to capture Bakhmut, even though the region's strategic value is questionable.

According to Western officials, thousands of Russian troops have lost their lives in the assault.

Taking to Twitter, Ukraine's defence ministry stated that Russia's phosphorus attack targeted "unoccupied areas of Bakhmut with incendiary ammunition".

The special forces command of Kyiv added that the forces of Moscow continued "to destroy the city". It remains unclear when the alleged attack happened.

However, the footage posted by Ukraine's military showed high-rise towers engulfed in fire. The video was taken by a surveillance drone, as per reports.

Meanwhile, other videos shared on the social media platform showed fire spreading on the ground.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on full-scale last year, it has faced accusations of using white phosphorus many times, especially during the siege of Mariupol, when the war began.

However, Moscow admitted publicly that it has used white phosphorous, in fact, last year Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said, "Russia has never violated international conventions" after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused them of using it.

White phosphorus is a wax-like element that ignites after coming in contact with oxygen and leads to bright plumes of smoke. A warning was issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) which stated that the chemical is "notorious for the severity of the injuries it causes".

WATCH | Russia's Wagner Group decides to withdraw from Bakhmut due to shortage of ammunition

White phosphorus burns at 800 degrees Celsius and leads to extreme burns on human flesh. It is very sticky in nature and can re-ignite after bandages are removed.

Russia is among the signatories of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons which has placed a ban on incendiary weapons' use in civilian areas which are designed to catch fire.

However, HRW said that white phosphorus has not been covered under the treaty because it is generally used to "create a smokescreen to hide military operations".

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