During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian authorities repeatedly accused Russia of using white phosphorus bombs in the battles for Kyiv and Kramatorsk in March, and against defenders at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in May. In turn, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the armed forces of Ukraine used phosphorus ammunition in the defense of the Gostomel airfield at the end of February.[1][2][3][4]
Independent experts interviewed by the media stated that there was a lack of data to unequivocally establish the type of ammunition used.[5][6][7][4]
Regulation and application
Incendiary ammunition is prohibited by the Geneva Convention, the provisions of which are binding on all countries involved in military conflicts.[7][8][4] But because white phosphorus has legal uses, shells filled with it are not directly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Experts consider them not as incendiary, but as masking, since their main goal is to create a smoke screen.[6]
White phosphorus ignites when interacting with oxygen, releasing a large amount of smoke during combustion. The military can use the curtain to mask troop movements. However, the chemical characteristics of the substance make phosphorus bombs especially dangerous: the burning temperature of phosphorus is 800–2500 °C; it sticks to various surfaces, including skin and clothes; the burning substance is difficult to extinguish. White phosphorus can cause deep burns down to the bones, and remnants of the substance in the tissues can ignite again after the initial treatment. It is difficult for military doctors, who are usually limited by medical resources, to provide timely and full assistance to the victims. Even burn survivors can die from organ failure due to the toxicity of white phosphorus. In addition, fires caused by incendiary projectiles can destroy civilian buildings and property, and damage crops and livestock. Humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch are calling on governments to include phosphorus warheads under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.[7][6][9][10]
Despite the danger, for 2022 the Chemical Weapons Convention did not classify phosphorus bombs as such. Non-governmental international organizations have recorded their use during military conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip, and other war zones. However, the use of phosphorus bombs near populated areas or civilians is still a war crime, as humanitarian law requires military attacks to be selective. The command is obliged to distinguish between civilians and soldiers, as well as civilian and military objects, which is impossible when using such projectiles in populated areas.[7]
During the 2022 Russian invasion
On March 25, 2022, in an address to NATO leaders, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian military of using phosphorus shells against civilians: "This morning, by the way, phosphorus bombs were used. Russian phosphorus bombs. Adults were killed again, children were killed again".[4] At the end of the month, the deputy head of the Kyiv police reported about the shelling of Kramatorsk with incendiary shells with phosphorus. And in the media there were photos showing characteristic flashes over Kyiv. Although at that time the fact of the use of phosphorus shells was not confirmed by independent organizations, experts admitted such a possibility. The active Ukrainian resistance and the poor progress of the offensive[11][7][4][6] may have prompted the Russian authorities to use dangerous weapons.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Anna Malyar said that the government has begun checking on incoming information about the possible use of chemical weapons, to which she includes phosphorus bombs in particular, during the blockade of Mariupol. The head of the administration of the Donetsk region and Ukrainian politician Pavlo Kirilenko confirmed that he had seen reports that an unknown explosive device was dropped by a drone in the vicinity of the Mariupol metallurgical plant, three people felt ill and were hospitalized. Russian-backed DPR forces have denied the use of banned weapons in Mariupol.[12]
In mid-May, Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine Lyudmila Denisova[13] accused Russian forces of attacking the Mariupol metallurgical plant Azovstal with 9M22S incendiary and phosphorus bombs. This was confirmed by a video with characteristic flashes over the territory of the plant, which was posted on social networks by the commander of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic Alexander Khodakovsky.[5] At that time, a number of civilians who had previously taken refuge at the plant were evacuated with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN.[14] Nevertheless, about a thousand Ukrainian soldiers remained on the territory, and Russian forces blocked all evacuation routes from Mariupol.[15]
Western experts disagreed whether the shelling of Azovstal was a fact of using phosphorus ammunition or conventional 9M22S thermite shells based on magnesium alloy.[16] The Russian command did not comment on which weapon was used for the attack. The Russian media suggested that the Azovstal video showed Grad projectiles with pyrotechnic filler, and not phosphorus bombs.[17]
Indian Defence View[18] and Samir, an open-source intelligence analyst explain[9] that they probably used 9M22S incendiary shells developed by NPO Splav in 1971 based on 9M22 high-explosive fragmentation ammunition. Instead of a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, the 9M22S rocket carries a 9N510 warhead containing 180 separate incendiary elements. Designed to ignite vegetation, storage facilities, or fuel, these incendiary elements consist of hexagonal prisms made from a magnesium alloy known as ML5[19] filled with a thermite-like pyrotechnic composition. Each element has a nominal length of 40 mm and a width of 25 mm and a burning time of at least 2 minutes. It is also noted that the effect of these incendiary, as well as conventional lighting munitions (especially at night), outwardly often resembles the use of phosphorus munitions, but they are not.[20]
Serhiy Haidai, the Governor of Luhansk Oblast, called the Russian attackers war criminals, comparing their actions to those of the Nazis.[21] On May 16, the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine launched an investigation into the possible use of incendiary weapons against the defenders of Azovstal.[22][23]
See also
- War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Use of cluster bombs in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
References
- ^ "Минобороны РФ обвинило армию Украины в применении фосфорных боеприпасов". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ "Власти Мариуполя обвинили Россию в применении фосфорных боеприпасов против «Азовстали»". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ "Azovstal steel plant defenders 'hit with phosphorus bombs'". The Times. 2022-05-16.
- ^ a b c d e "Zelenskyy claims new Russian war crimes, asks for help as Biden joins NATO partners for emergency summit on Ukraine war". CBS. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ a b "Burning munitions cascade down on Ukrainian steel plant, video shows". Reuters. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ a b c d "Ukraine claims that Russia is using white phosphorus". The Washington Post. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ a b c d e "What is white phosphorus, and what does it mean that Russia may be using it in Ukraine?". CBS. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". United Nations. 1993. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ a b "'White Phosphorus' Claimed To Be Used In Ukraine May Really Be Russian Napalm Weapon". Forbes. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "'They Burn Through Everything'". Human Rights Watch. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Ukraine says Russia using phosphorus bombs as Biden warns of 'real threat' of chemical weapons attack". Independent. 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Putin defends 'noble' war amid allegations of chemical weapons use". Arab News. 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Российские войска применили фосфорные снаряды против украинских защитников «Азовстали» – Денисова". Crimea. Realities (devision of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty). 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ "As Russia continues to bomb Ukraine, are its weapons of choice getting worse?". Guardian. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Russia 'drops phosphorus bombs' on Azovstal steelworks". The Telegraph. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Fact Check: Does Video Show Russia Use Phosphorus Against Azovstal Plant?". Newsweek. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Стал известен секрет «фейерверка» над «Азовсталью»". Московский Комсомолец. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Russia used 9M22S incendiary munitions on Azovstal steel plant". Defence View. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ ГОСТ 2856-79 Сплавы магниевые литейные. 1981.
- ^ "Russia used 9M22S incendiary munitions on Azovstal steel plant - Defence View". 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "'Hell came down to earth' Russia chemical weapon fears over 2,500C 'phosphorus bombs'". Express Newspapers. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Burning munitions cascade down on Ukrainian steel plant - video". Swissinfo. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Russia says it will evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal". Swissinfo. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-04-04.