On Tuesday, a video from the village of Ozerne in the Donetsk region spread widely on Twitter and other social media.
The firework-like flames raining down on the small village have been described by many as the so-called “termite bombs”.
The video was shared by leading Ukrainian politicians and the official Twitter account of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, according to which the Russians are behind the attack.
Comparable to Napalm
The latter claims that the attack was carried out with 9M22S missiles, a Soviet-developed missile with so-called “termite bombs”.
Ammunition was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s with the aim of setting fire to fuel depots, weapons depots and buildings. Forbes reporter and military expert David Hambling believes in ammunition can be compared to Napalm.
Termite is made up of aluminum and iron oxide, which burns at several thousand degrees Celsius. The weapon is known for creating massive destruction.
Termite bombs
Dagbladet’s investigations show that the video was shot on Ozerne, as claimed by social media. According to Faktisk Verifiserbar fact-checkers, everything indicates that the video is real.
Dagbladet was unable to determine the time the video was shot. On Tuesday morning it started spreading on social media.
Even the news site News week presented the video.
Begged after defeat: – Panic
Dr Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at King’s College London told Newsweek that these are definitely termite bombs, as the Ukrainian defense claims.
He claims that both the Russians and the Ukrainians have such bombs and points out that there is no concrete evidence that the Russians are actually attacking.
Forbidden to civilians
He told the news website that this type of ammunition was apparently used in Donetsk on July 23 this year, a city that has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
– We may think it makes sense that the Russians used them in this case, he says.
At the same time, he points out that Ukrainians also have access to this ammunition.
He claims the Russians are using phosphorus bombs
– We can’t know for sure if either side would use this type of ammunition in areas under their control, he says.
It is not illegal to use termite bombs, but the use of such firebombs is strictly limited to military purposes in the United Nations Armaments Convention. It is forbidden to use bombs on civilians.
Incendiary bombs
Despite some unclear legality, incendiary ammunition in warfare is a controversial topic.
Human Rights Watch refers to this type of ammunition as “among the most hideous weapons used in modern armed conflicts”. The organization is working to completely ban these weapons.
The alleged incendiary bombing of Ozerne is far from the first time it has been claimed that incendiary bombs of this caliber were used in the war in Ukraine.
Azovstal
Among other things, it was alleged that the Russians used phosphorus bombs on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol while it was still besieged by Ukrainian soldiers.
He claims the pictures show horror bombs
Newsweek however, fact-checkers were unable to find evidence that the incendiary bombs contain phosphorus and conclude that they may also have been termite bombs at the time.
At the same time, weapons expert Trevor Lawrence points out the following on the news website:
– For the people under the bombs, it doesn’t really make much difference. Still, it’s terrible stuff.
Regained
Ozerne is one of several villages in eastern Ukraine that have been recaptured by Russian control.
The village was recaptured by the Ukrainians on 4 September at the start of the counter-offensive now underway on several fronts in Ukraine.
“Mysterious” attacks in Russia: – We are afraid
The city is a few kilometers from the first line of the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured more than 8,000 square kilometers from the Russians since the counter-offensive was launched.
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