Two projectiles were fired at a street at the southern exit of the town and led to the nearby town of Bakhmout. Phosphorus ammunition is an incendiary weapon whose use against civilians, but not against military targets, is prohibited under a convention signed in Geneva in 1980.
The hiss of the two projectiles in the sky was always followed by submunition explosions, releasing a multitude of small white, glowing phosphorus balls that slowly fell vertically. Once on the ground, the incendiary bullets set fire to vegetation on either side of the road, in an area roughly the size of a football field.
AFP could not say whether the place attacked was a position or camp of the Kyiv Armed Forces, but a green van with a white cross, a sign of the Ukrainian army, was parked at the entrance of a path in the burned area.
The first homes are about 200 meters from one end of the affected area. Kiev has accused Moscow of using them on numerous occasions since the offensive began, particularly against civilians, which the Russian army categorically denies.
“Key to Defense Stability”
Around Bahmut takes place the longest and bloodiest battle since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the defense of which is “key” for Kiev: “The defensive operation in this direction is of the utmost strategic importance to deter the enemy,” Valery Zalouzhny said on Telegram, quoted by his press office. “It is the key to the stability of the defense of the entire front,” he stressed.
He echoed similar recent statements by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who were considering it The loss of Bakhmout could allow the Russians to attack and conquer other nearby major cities. On Tuesday, after a meeting between Ukraine’s president and key leaders of his army, the Ukrainian presidency assured in a press release that “all members of the general staff” had expressed “a common position regarding the continued maintenance and defense of the Ukrainian military.” City of Bachmout”.
The city of Bakhmout is located in Donbass in eastern Ukraine. © RFI
The decision to hold the city at all costs comes as the situation on the ground becomes increasingly complicated for Ukrainian forces.
On Monday, Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Oleksandre Syrsky said “heavy fighting” with the Russian forces were en route in the center of Bakhmouta city now completely devastated.
The leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, quoted by Russian news agencies, confirmed on Tuesday that “literally around every meter of Bakhmout” there is “bitter fighting”.
The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigojine, whose men are at the forefront of battletold him that Ukraine “is preparing[ait] » a counter-offensive « around » the city, without giving further details. He estimated the number of Ukrainian soldiers mobilized in the area at “approximately 70,000,” information that could not be verified by an independent source.
► Also read: Bakhmout, a communication struggle?
(With AFP)