Foreign media reported on the 6th (local time) that a chemical weapon suspected of white phosphorus was dropped on Bahmut, the largest battleground in eastern Ukraine, and the city was engulfed in “hell’s flames.”
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine posted a video on Twitter on the same day of white phosphorus, presumably, raining down in Bahmut from the air.
The video, believed to have been filmed by a surveillance drone in Ukraine, shows a substance believed to be white phosphorus being sprayed widely over a city with flashes of light. The exact time of the shooting is not known.
Another video shows a high-rise building engulfed in flames. There is also a video of flames rising fiercely from the ground.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine tweeted: “Not enough shells, but enough phosphorus. The Russian army dropped incendiary bombs on unoccupied areas of Bahmut,” he said, “they will burn in hell.”
White phosphorus is a type of incendiary bomb. The German Nazis called it the ‘burning onion’. After being blown up in the air, it falls like rain over a wide area.
Although it was used as a flare, it was also used as a weapon due to its high killing power. It has a low ignition temperature and is easily ignited, but very difficult to extinguish. It is sticky and if it sticks to the body, it is not easy to remove it, and until the fire goes out, it digs into the body and continues to burn, causing excruciating pain. Under international law, its use in civilian areas is considered a war crime.
As a result of video analysis, the BBC estimated that it was dropped to the west of downtown Bahmut and near a children’s hospital. In addition, while analyzing it as a type of ‘incendiary bomb’, he added that it is unclear whether ‘phosphorus’ was used.
Ukraine claimed that Russia used white phosphorus on several occasions, including during the siege of Mariupol at the beginning of the war.
Russia does not recognize the use of white phosphorus. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brought this up last year, the Kremlin denied that “Russia has never violated international agreements.”
Bahamut is where the fiercest battles take place. Both sides are fighting to the death, with Russia trying to occupy for months and Ukrainian forces holding out in the west.
In the midst of this, the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, which led the fighting in Bahmut, announced that it would withdraw on May 10 due to ammunition supply problems. It is because the Russian Ministry of Defense does not properly supply them with ammunition. Yevgeny Prigozin, head of Wagner’s group, handed over the role to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, saying that “the number of casualties is increasing exponentially every day.”
Nevertheless, the BBC reported that the Ukrainian side is aware that the Wagner group is redeploying mercenaries to occupy Bahmut before the Victory Day ceremony on the 9th.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.