The charges are serious. Ukrainian authorities announced that Russian forces on Wednesday fired shell phosphorus on Marinka, a small town in eastern Ukraine counting ten thousand inhabitants before the beginning of the war on February 24th.
“The Russians used phosphorus shells again today in Marinka,” Donetsk region military administration chief Pavel Kyrylenko told Telegram. “A dozen fires (caused by these shells) were located and brought under control by National Emergency Service personnel,” he continued.
Russia claims to respect international law
The weapons phosphorus are incendiary weapons whose use is prohibited against civilians, but not against military targets, under a Convention signed in 1980 in Geneva.
Russia denied on March 25 any violation of international law after being repeatedly accused by Ukraine of having used such ammunition in the context of its offensive.