“Accusations of Russian Use of White Phosphorus in Bakhmut, Ukraine”

The night darkness above the city ruins in Bakhmut is lit up by what is believed to be the sticky, wax-like and easily flammable substance “white phosphorus”. Now the Russians are accused again of using the disputed weapon.

The Ukrainian military has released a video taken by a drone that allegedly shows burning areas in Bakhmut as white phosphorus rains down on the city.

The Ukrainian defense writes on Twitter:

“Not enough artillery ammunition, but more than enough phosphorus. The Russians bomb unoccupied areas of Bakhmut with incendiary ammunition. They will burn in hell.”

BBC have location verified the video to an area west of the now destroyed city.

It is this area that the Ukrainian forces still control, after the battle for the city in eastern Ukraine has now lasted for about nine months.

Prominent Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko posted this video on Friday, purporting to show the phosphorus from ground level:

Since August, Russian forces, led by the mercenaries of the Wagner group, have been trying to take control of the city.

Now the Russians control large parts of the city core, but the Ukrainians have chosen not to withdraw. The reason is that the Ukrainians, despite heavy losses of their own, believe they are killing a great many Russian soldiers in the city, and that they are tying up Russian soldiers who would otherwise be used elsewhere far from the front.

VG recently traveled along the 1,000 km long front in Ukraine. Read the report here.

White phosphorus in bombs is not prohibited, but the use of such bombs in civilian areas is considered a war crime. Russia has also previously been accused of using white phosphorus, including during the brutal offensive against Mariupol.

It is not only the Russians who have used the weapon in war in recent decades: NATO has used the weapon i AfghanistanUS forces used it in Iraq, and the coalition against IS, of which Norway was a part, used that against IS in Mosul.

White phosphorus creates fires that spread quickly and are difficult to extinguish. The substance is sticky and difficult to remove, and flames can flare up when a bandage is removed.

On Friday, the head of the mercenaries in the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on the group’s own Telegram channel that they will withdraw from Bakhmut on 10 May.

In the video, Prigozhin claimed that the Wagner Group lacks large amounts of ammunition and blames it on the Russian military leaders. “Wow! Gerasimov! Where are the h…bombs,” he screamed at the camera.

A major Ukrainian counter-offensive is expected to start shortly.