July 15, 2022

Incendiary Weapons in Ukraine?


Incendiary Weapons in Ukraine?
An example of a white phosphorus bomb mid-explosion during WWII. Wikimedia Commons, USAAF

On July 1, several videos posted online captured Russian aircraft deploying white phosphorus bombs over Snake Island. This is not the first time Russian forces have been accused of using incendiary weapons during their war on Ukraine.

Incendiary weapons are infamous for their large dispersion patterns and for the gruesome injuries they inflict upon both soldiers and civilians. Incendiaries are flammable weapons that may be used for smoke screens, setting fires, and lighting up in the dark.

White phosphorus, the chemical allegedly used in Ukraine, is an example of an incendiary agent, and can be used to fill incendiary bombs. The thick and waxy substance ignites with oxygen and is capable of burning human flesh down to the bone, reaching a temperature of some 800 degrees Celsius. According to Brian Castner, Amnesty International war crimes investigator, water will actually make phosphorus burns worse, so there is often nothing an individual can do to immediately help themselves or others.

While Russia has been accused of repeatedly using incendiary weapons like white phosphorus since February, there has been no official confirmation. But the March 2022, video clearly shows white phosphorus being deployed in Kramatorsk, which President Zelensky said killed civilians, including children. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk, also said that white phosphorus was used during the siege of the Azovstal steel plant at Mariupol. Incendiary weapons are notoriously difficult to contain, and so the phosphorus can easily spill over from combat areas into civilian ones.

While the use of white phosphorus is not banned internationally, incendiary agents of its kind are prohibited from use in areas where civilians are present, according to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons signed by Ukraine, Russia, and 111 other countries.

           

You Might Also Like

Suing for Peace, and Compensation
  • June 29, 2022

Suing for Peace, and Compensation

"The looting of Ukrainian goods for export – including grain and steel – has already led to rising prices and an increase in the number of people dying of hunger worldwide. This barbarism must be stopped, and Russia must pay in full. I believe in justice, and I will fight for it.” – Rinat Akhmetov, the Ukrainian businessman who is suing Russia
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955