Ukraine Defense Ministry: Russians Allegedly Used Phosphorus Bombs in Mariupol
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Ukraine is checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar announced it.
Asked whether the second stage of the war has already begun in Ukraine, she confirmed that the hot phase was already underway.
“We have a war going on, and in fact, it is in its hot phase. We have ongoing battles. For example, the Armed Forces repulsed six enemy attacks last night. Although we have data on the temporarily occupied territories where the enemy is trying to establish its power, the territory from which the enemy was knocked out and which the enemy did not reach is much larger,” said the deputy minister.
According to Malyar, today we cannot talk about a calmer situation, it is incorrect. Indeed, the intensity of fighting has abated, but the enemy's desire to advance deep into the territory does not decline, Maliar noted.
Reuters reported that Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On April 12, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters in Moscow that on April 11, the Russian army thwarted an attempt by air and artillery fire to retake about 100 Ukrainian troops from Mariupol. The Russian general named the area of operation of the factory as the place of operation and said that about 50 Ukrainian soldiers were liquidated and 42 threw down their weapons. This information has not been confirmed by other sources.
The Interfax news agency is reporting that the pro-Russian separatist forces in the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk have denied using chemical weapons in Mariupol.
On April 11, the British Ministry of Defense said that the use of phosphorous munitions by the Russian military in the Donetsk region increases the likelihood that they will do the same in Mariupol, as the fight for the city intensifies.
The information that the Russian military used chemical weapons near the Azovstal factory in Mariupol was spread by the representatives of the ‘Azov’ regiment on the night of April 11. This area of the city is protected by ‘Azov’.
The use of chemical weapons by the Russian military in Mariupol has not yet been confirmed by the US Department of Defense. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Tras said she was working with partners to verify the details.
For more than a month, the Russian occupation forces have been besieging the city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, which has been almost completely destroyed by rockets and airstrikes. According to the city mayor, more than 10 thousand civilians were killed in Mariupol.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure, and massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, and ballistic missiles.
