Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol were victims of Russian phosphorus bombs, it was reported Thursday.
"In addition to aviation, tanks, naval, and land artillery, phosphorus bombs have been added," Ukraine Azov Regiment Deputy Cmdr. Svyatoslav Ponomar said of the Russian attack in recent days, Grani.ru reported.
White phosphorus is an industrial chemical substance that can cause severe and indiscriminate harm to civilians. Late last month, The Washington Post reported that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said President Vladimir Putin's troops were using phosphorus bombs to kill children and adults.
Amunition containing phosphorus creates a thick white cloud after it explodes.
If phosphorus comes into contact with human flesh, it can burn all the way to the bone, the Post reported. As it reacts to oxygen, it can even reignite when bandages are removed.
Phosphorus also can enter the bloodstream, poisoning organs such as the kidneys, liver, and heart, and possibly causing multiple organ failures. It can also damage the respiratory system.
Because white phosphorous has some legitimate uses, the bombs are not considered chemical weapons and are not banned explicitly by international humanitarian law.
However, The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, signed by Russia, the United States, and 123 other countries, bans the use of incendiary weapons in civilian areas.
Mariupol's city council reported that mobile crematoriums are operating with local residents and militants comprising "clean-up teams" that collect and burn the bodies of killed civilians, Grani.ru said.
Konstantin Ivashchenko, appointed "mayor" by pro-Russian forces, is coordinating the clean-up effort. "For many years, he and his henchmen repeatedly tried to seize power, but in the end he only managed to become the director of the Mariupol crematorium," the city council said, Grani.ru reported.
It also was reported that Russian troops were conducting a "cleansing" in the city "to identify all the 'Nazis,' into whose ranks everyone who is not for the occupation" falls. Soldiers break down doors and rob, Grani.ru said.
Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko compared the Russians to the Nazis.
"Rushists have turned our entire city into a death camp," Boychenko said, Grani.ru reported. "Unfortunately, the terrible analogy is getting more and more confirmations. This is no longer Chechnya or Aleppo. This is the new Auschwitz and Majdanek."
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