The United Kingdom has warned that Vladimir Putin’s forces could use white phosphorus (WP) munitions as part of the bombing of the Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) published today its intelligence assessment that WP has already been used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
White phosphorus is used for lighting at night or to create a smoke screen, but when used as a weapon, it causes horrible burns.
Live news for Ukraine: EU warns of big attack “next day”
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4:10 Sean Bell added that experts have warned that the next phase of the war could be “particularly intense and particularly brutal”
The assessment says: “The previous use of phosphate munitions by the Russian forces in the Donetsk region increases the possibility of their future work in Mariupol, as the battles for the city are intensifying.”
The Defense Ministry added that Russian forces continued to fire on areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv troops repulsed “several attacks”.
“Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs reduces their ability to discriminate in targeting and conducting strikes, while significantly increasing the risk of new civilian casualties,” the ministry warned.
Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko also said 10,000 civilians had died in the Russian siege of his city and that the death toll could exceed 20,000, with corpses “laid out in the streets”.
Image: Residents carry their belongings near the destroyed buildings in Mariupol
Read more: What weapons do Ukrainians want to fight Russian forces?
He said: “Mobile crematoria have arrived in the form of trucks: you open it, and there is a pipe inside and these bodies have been burned.”
Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer said his meeting with Putin in Moscow did not leave him optimistic.
He said: “The offensive is obviously being prepared on a massive scale.”
That comes when the United Kingdom is ready to step up its military support for Ukraine following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unannounced visit to see Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv over the weekend.
In the village of Buzova near Kyiv, local authorities said bodies had been found showing “evidence of execution” after Russia’s withdrawal.
Buzova is close to Bucha, another city where atrocities have been uncovered – although Russia says the scenes were staged after its occupation.
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Mr Zelensky used his nightly address to warn Ukrainians to prepare for a Russian attack in the east.
He said: “Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the eastern part of our country.
“They can use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs. But we are preparing for their actions.
“We will answer. We will be even more active in providing weapons to Ukraine. “
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