Moscow said Friday, March 25 to be in good standing with international law. However, the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region, Serguïï Gaïdaï, accused the day before Russia of using phosphorus bombs in its military offensive in Ukraine. In reality, international texts poorly frame the use of this destructive weapon.
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White phosphorus is an incendiary chemical. It ignites spontaneously on contact with air, reaching a temperature of 800 degrees. It generates “serious chemical burns (…) which often penetrate to the bones”, reports Human Rights Watch (HRW). When these burns cover 10% of the body, they become “often fatal”.
Used by Americans in Iraq
This product was used massively during the Second World War, before being used by the Americans in Vietnam, by Israel against the Palestinians and by the Russians in Chechnya and Syria. The United States was accused of using it during the Battle of Falluja, Iraq, in 2004.
However, this is not the only role of white phosphorus. It is also used to illuminate combat areas at night. Its name comes from the Greek phosphoros, “who brings light”.
A poorly framed weapon
White phosphorus is also known for its smoke-producing properties. It then makes it possible to hide troops, equipment and areas from the enemy. According to the think tank Globalsecurity.org, it was for this purpose that it was widely used by Russian troops in December 1994, during the Chechen war.
→ READ. War in Ukraine: what international law says about chemical weapons
Like all incendiary weapons, white phosphorus does not fall under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This type of weapon is on the other hand mentioned by Protocol III of another text, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Signed by many countries, including France, the United States, Russia and Ukraine, the CCW allows the use of phosphorus ammunition on military objectives, but prohibits it near areas where there are civilians. .
According to HRW, this Convention poorly regulates white phosphorus, because it considers it above all as a “obscuring device”. The humanitarian organization also recalls that other smoke devices, less dangerous, can replace it. Israel did so, after being criticized for its use of white phosphorus on the Gaza Strip in 2008-2009. These attacks killed at least 12 civilians.
“Authorized” but “disgusting”
It is because of this limit that Russia was able to deny, on March 25, any violation of international law. It is indeed possible to use white phosphorus in all circumstances because the text considers that its primary purpose is not to inflict burns.
More broadly, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) points out, incendiary weapons (with phosphorus or containing other chemicals) are not banned from the battlefield. Their use remains permitted on military installations if they are sufficiently far from civilians and if the person in charge takes care to limit the fallout.
For military expert Michel Goya, interviewed on BFMTV, if the use of white phosphorus is therefore ” authorized ” none the less remains ” disgusting “.