Ukraine LIVE: Terrifying map shows Putin’s barbaric war now just 10km from EU – WW3 fears | World | News


Markiyan Lubkivsky, from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, has said to the BBC that President Putin wants to turn Ukrainian cities into “Aleppos” [a city in Syria] and has claimed that Russia used white phosphorus in bombing attacks.

Mr Lubkivsky’s said to situation is “quite critical” and referred to the Syrian city that suffered mass destruction during its civil war. After Putin intervened in the Syrian war in 2015, the Russians pounded whole districts in rebel-held Aleppo.

White phosporous bombs can create thick white smoke screens that can hide military forces or mark targets.

It also causes huge fires and can cause horrendous injuries.

Their use in populated areas and against military targets in areas surrounded by civilian populations is banned.

Liudmila Denisova, Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman, also claimed on Sunday that Moscow had used them in an overnight attack on the town of Popasna in eastern Luhansk region.

Oleksi Biloshytsky, head of police in Popasna wrote on Facebook: “It’s what the Nazis called a ‘flaming onion’ and that’s what the Russcists [amalgamation of ‘Russians’ and ‘fascists’] are dropping on our towns. Indescribable suffering and fires.”

White phosphorus munitions are not considered a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and their primary aim is to create thick smoke that can hide military forces or mark targets. However, the substance burns fiercely and can cause horrendous injuries, and international law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilian areas.



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