The phosphorus bombs, which Russia is accused by kyiv of using in Ukraine, are incendiary weapons whose use is prohibited against civilians but not against military targets, according to an international convention.
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These phosphorus bombs, which leave white streaks in the sky, would have hit a locality in the Lugansk region, according to Ukrainian officials in these eastern regions.
An accusation relayed Thursday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This information was immediately unverifiable.
“Russia has never violated any international convention
,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov when asked by the press on this subject.
Incendiary bomb, not chemical
White phosphorus bombs are not chemical weapons, the use of which is prohibited by the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC) which entered into force in 1997. They fall into the category of incendiary weapons.
Their use is codified by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) which entered into force in December 1983, which restricts their use but does not completely prohibit them.
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This type of weapon
"is prohibited in all circumstances"
against civilian populations, stipulates this protocol.
Incendiary weapons are also prohibited against military targets when they are close to civilian populations.
But this protocol does not concern white phosphorus when it is used for its smoke-producing or illuminating properties.
The Russian Federation and Ukraine have been considered as signatories to this Protocol III since 1982 (during the time of the USSR).
Phosphorus, which ignites on contact with air,
"is not classified as a chemical weapon, we are talking about equipment that is available to many armies around the world"
, according to Olivier Lepick, researcher associated with the Foundation for Strategic Research, interviewed Thursday on the French channel LCI.
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Its use can be used as a smoke screen to mask troop movements, illuminate the battlefield or even destroy infrastructure by fire.
But, when it affects civilians, it can
"cause absolutely appalling damage, extremely significant burns"
, underlines the expert.
Appeared with the Great War
Incendiary bombs began to be used massively during the First World War, alongside the birth of military aviation.
On May 31, 1915, for the very first time, an air attack using incendiary bombs was carried out on London with a German Zeppelin airship.
White phosphorus shells were widely used during World War II, especially by the US military on European soil, especially against German armored troops.
Another famous type of incendiary ammunition, the napalm bombs, based on gelled gasoline, invented in 1942, are best known for having been used by the American army in Vietnam against the guerrillas led by the Vietcong army, making a number high civilian casualties.
The French army also used napalm during the Indochina War, in particular during the Battle of Vinh Yen in 1951.
Employment in Iraq and Syria
More recently, the American army was accused of having used white phosphorus bombs during an offensive on Fallujah in November 2004 despite the presence of many civilians in this Iraqi city, suspected of serving as a rear base for terrorist groups.
The American chief of staff Peter Pace had, after the fact, judged
"legitimate"
the use of white phosphorus bombs against insurgents in Iraq.
“White phosphorus is a legitimate means for the army,”
the senior officer explained in November 2005.
"It's not a chemical weapon.
It's an incendiary weapon.
It comes under the law of war to use these weapons
.
The Israeli army was accused of using phosphorus bombs in January 2009 in Gaza by the director of the UN agency for aid to Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) John Ging.
The Russian army was accused in March 2018 by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) of having used incendiary bombs in Syria during the Bashar al-Assad regime's offensive against a rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus.
Moscow had denied.
The Ukrainian army was also accused by Russia of using phosphorus ammunition in June 2014 during the Donbass War.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have also accused each other of bombing civilian areas, or using prohibited weapons containing phosphorus during the fighting in Nagorny Karabakh in 2020.
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