Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of launching deadly white phosphorus bomb attacks in the eastern region of Lugansk that led to dozens of casualties.
Oleksi Biloshytsky, a police officer in the Lugansk region said that Russian forces had used the chemical weapon in his area. In a Facebook post, he wrote “It’s what the Nazis called a ‘flaming onion’ and that’s what the Russcists (‘Russians’ and ‘fascists’) are dropping on our towns. Indescribable suffering and fires,”.
Ukraine has already accused Russia of committing war crimes and grave human rights violations in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. It had also declared Russia a terrorist state soon after the latter launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine a few weeks ago.
What are white Phosphorus Bombs?
White Phosphorus bombs are explosives made of white phosphorus – a toxic substance obtained from phosphate rocks.
White phosphorus is a pyrophoric substance. It gets ignited by contact with air and burns fiercely. It can burn a range of articles including cloth, fuel, ammunition, and other combustibles. Possession of phosphorus is prohibited and illegal in most jurisdictions.
White phosphorus is also a highly efficient smoke-producing agent. It reacts with air to produce an immediate blanket of phosphorus pentoxide vapor.
International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous bombs and munitions in heavily populated civilian areas. Notably, its use is allowed in open areas as a defensive cover for troops given its smoke-producing properties.
Which International Treaty regulates use of Phosphorus bombs?
Chemical Weapons Convention or the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction 1997 regulates the use of phosphorus munitions.
Phosphorus is listed in Schedule 2 of the Chemical Weapons Convention that contains a list of chemicals that are mostly used in the production of chemical weapons.
While the convention allows the production and use of these chemicals for research, medical or chemical weapon defense testing purposes but sites producing more than 100 grams per year must be declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The convention also prohibits the export of schedule 2 chemicals to countries that are not signatories to the chemical weapons convention.
Further, a country cannot possess more than 1 tonne of these materials ordinarily. So far, only fourteen countries including Russia have declared chemical weapons production facilities.
