RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS: Phosphorus Bombs, Restricted But Not Banned

Ukraine has accused Russian troops of using phosphorus bombs, which are incendiary weapons that are prohibited against civilians but permitted against military targets under an international treaty.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymr Zelensky, have claimed that phosphorus weapons, which leave a distinctive white trail in the sky, were used against a village in the Lugansk region and at Irpin outside Kyiv.

The allegation could not be verified right away.

“Russia has never violated any international convention,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, retorted.

Phosphorus, a substance that catches fire when it comes into contact with air, “is not classified as a chemical weapon, and it is available to many of the world’s armies,” according to Olivier Lepick, a researcher with France’s Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), on Thursday.

It’s used to create smokescreens to hide troop movements, illuminate the battlefield, or destroy buildings with fire, but it can “cause absolutely horrific damage, extremely large burns” if it hits people, he says.

It is not covered by the Convention on Chemical Weapons, which entered into force in 1997, because it is an incendiary.

It does, however, fall under the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which restricts but does not prohibit the use of fire weapons.

As former Soviet Union members, Russia and Ukraine are both signatories.

The use of incendiaries against civilians and non-military targets, as well as their deployment against military targets near civilians, is “prohibited in all circumstances.”

However, when used for smokescreening or battlefield illumination, phosphorus is not covered by the convention.

100 Years Of Fire Bombs

During World War I, incendiary weapons were widely used for the first time, just as the air force began to play a significant military role.

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A German Zeppelin airship dropped fire bombs on London in May 1915.

During World War II, white phosphorus shells were widely used, particularly by American troops fighting German armoured forces in the European theatre.

Napalm, a type of thickened petrol invented in 1942, was widely used by US forces against Vietcong guerilla fighters during the Vietnam War, resulting in widespread civilian casualties.

Former colonial power Previously, France had used fire weapons in its own battles in Indochina.

Following the millennium’s turn, US forces were accused of employing phosphorus bombs in their 2004 assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

The weapons, according to then-military chief Peter Pace, are a “legitimate military tool” for targeting insurgents.

“It does not constitute a chemical weapon. It’s a tinderbox. And using those weapons is perfectly legal under international law “He insisted on smokescreens and lighting.

In 2009, the head of the UN’s Palestinian aid agency accused Israel of using white phosphorus in Gaza.

In addition, Syrian observers claimed that Russia used incendiaries against Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold near Damascus – a claim that Moscow denied.

The Kremlin has accused Ukraine’s army of using phosphorus against Russia-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region in 2014.