[citation needed] Russians were accused of using white phosphorus bombs multiple times; in the Battle of Kyiv and against Kramatorsk in March 2022,[1] against dug-in defenders at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in May 2022,[2][3][4][5] and in Marinka over the 2022 Christmas holiday.
On 15 March 2022, when the incendiaries were used in Battle of Mariupol Serhiy Haidai, the Governor of Luhansk Oblast, called the Russian attackers war criminals, comparing their actions to those of the Nazis.
[19] Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Anna Malyar said in April 2022 that the government has begun checking on incoming information about the possible use of chemical weapons, particularly phosphorus bombs, during the blockade of Mariupol.
The head of the administration of the Donetsk region and Ukrainian politician Pavlo Kirilenko confirmed that he had seen reports that an unknown explosive device was dropped by a drone in the vicinity of the Mariupol metallurgical plant, three people felt ill and were hospitalized.
[20] In mid-May, Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine Lyudmila Denisova[21] accused Russian forces of attacking the Mariupol metallurgical plant, Azovstal, with incendiary and phosphorus bombs.
This was confirmed by a video with characteristic flashes over the territory of the plant, which was posted on social networks by the commander of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic Alexander Khodakovsky,[12] clearly depicting the 9M22S thermite-containing incendiary submunitions.
[25] Designed to ignite vegetation, storage facilities, or fuel, these incendiary elements consist of hexagonal prisms made from a magnesium alloy known to the Russian GOST as ML-5,[26][27] filled with a thermite mixture.
[31][32] Beginning in August-September 2024, Ukraine began the use of "dragon drones" that could spray molten thermite over Russian positions in forests to remove foliage and expose encampments and military equipment that could either ignite or be targeted by later attacks or precise bombings.