Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman accused Russia on Sunday of using banned phosphorus munitions in an overnight attack on the town of Popasna in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. Reuters was not immediately able to verify her statement.
The ombudswoman, Liudmila Denisova, shared a photograph purporting to show the alleged attack, but did not say if Ukraine had concrete evidence.
"The bombing of a civilian city by the Russian attackers with these weapons is a war crime and a crime against humanity according to the Rome convention,” she said in an online statement.
This follows allegations made by Ukrainian law enforcement officials, who posted images and videos to social media of what they claimed to be white phosphorus.
The fighting in Ukraine
Fighting continues on the 18th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with civilian areas in the Kharkiv and Mariupol areas reportedly coming under fire by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian military accused Russian forces of continuing to use civilian infrastructure for the purposes of their ongoing invasion, which includes disguising themselves as Ukrainian civilians or soldiers.
The Ukrainian military also accused Russian forces of targeting civilians and seizing their personal belongings.
The military further reported that Russian forces have suffered heavy casualties throughout the conflict, with many soldiers wounded in Ukraine being treated at medical facilities in southeastern Belarus.
Due to Russia's losses, the Ukrainian army believes they may begin transferring 1,500 more soldiers into the conflict.
In addition, artillery shelling in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine reportedly caused a gas pipeline to be damaged, as well as several houses, NV reported, citing the Luhansk Regional Military Administration.
According to the Russian-backed separatist breakaway state of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), Ukrainian forces have launched artillery bombardments on LPR territory three times in the past 24 hours, Russian news agency TASS reported Sunday.
In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces have launched around 50 artillery shells and mortars at residential areas, specifically in Kharkiv, Chuguev, Izium and Rogan, NV reported, citing Kharkiv Regional State Administration head Oleg Sinegubov.
This further led to a gas treatment facility being struck, resulting in an explosion that saw one worker injured, NV reported.
Fighting continues in Irpen and Makarov near Kyiv, while Russian troops continue to move through Hostomel, Bucha and Borodyanka, as well as in areas near Brovary where fighting is also ongoing, according to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform.
Overnight, air raid sirens went off twice in Sumy as Russian artillery reportedly fired several times on the city of Okhtyrka and surrounding villages, Ukrinform reported.
The port city of Mariupol remains under siege and clashes have taken place on the city outskirts while aid efforts are still underway, according to Ukrinform.
Russian shelling destroying civilian targets in Mariupol, Ukraine. Civilians are being buried in mass graves by authorities in the city which has no access to food, water, electricity or gas. pic.twitter.com/HrUgqvBpeH
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) March 13, 2022
Russian artillery fired on civilian targets in Mariupol, as shown in video footage shared on social media by a Wall Street Journal reporter. The city is suffering a humanitarian crisis due to a shortage of food, water, gas and electricity, as well as civilians being buried in mass graves by local authorities.
Russian progress
Russian forces are attempting to push further into the country, advancing from Kharkiv in the North and Mariupol in the South with the goal of enveloping Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, according to a British defense intelligence update.
The intelligence update further stated that Russians are advancing from Crimea in the South to drive west towards the valuable Black Sea port of Odessa, circumventing the port of Mykolaiv as they go.
Regardless, the UK defense intelligence update says that Russia's advances come at a high cost due to the staunch Ukrainian resistance.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 13 March 2022Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/eTyMwvnz4V #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/FLC100EJAr
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 13, 2022
Casualties
Ukrainian forces took down two helicopters, two fighter jets and two drones on Saturday during the fighting with Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian military.
Since February 24 when the invasion began, Ukraine says Russia has lost over 12,000 soldiers, 74 aircraft, 86 helicopters, seven drones, 374 tanks, 34 air defense systems, 62 MLRs, 140 artillery pieces, 12,26 armored vehicles, 60 fuel trucks, 600 other vehicles and three boats.
Information on Russian invasion Losses of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, March 13 pic.twitter.com/XsnOaphwTL
— MFA of Ukraine (@MFA_Ukraine) March 13, 2022
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces have destroyed 3,687 Ukrainian military facilities since the start of their invasion, which they call a "special operation," Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.
Further, Russian forces managed to destroy 99 aircraft, 128 drones, 1,194 tanks and armored combat vehicles, 121 multiple rocket launchers, 443 artillery pieces and mortars and 991 special military vehicles, Konashenkov was quoted by TASS as saying.
Further, Konashenkov alleged that Russian troops managed to free around 300 civilians and monks who were held hostage by the Ukrainian military's Aidar battalion at a monastery in the village of Nikolske in the Donestk region of eastern Ukraine, according to TASS.
Humanitarian aid
The capital city of Kyiv managed to form a two-week supply of food staples for two million residents, should Russian forces manage to fully blockade the Ukrainian capital and cut it off from the outside, Kyiv City State Administration deputy head Valentyn Mondryivsky said in a statement.
Mondryivsky further stated that the city is providing retail logistics to ensure the city's residents can buy what they need at stores and pharmacies.
Also Sunday, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said they will soon roll out a plan for a crop sowing campaign to safeguard the country's food supplies amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
He said Ukraine had sufficient volumes of basic food products for the next few months. "But we must also think about the future. Therefore the government is implementing a plan to support the sowing campaign, which should start soon where possible," he said in a statement.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 125,000 people have been evacuated to safe territory.
Zelensky later said in a video statement that a humanitarian aid shipment for Mariupol is set to arrive in the besieged city in just two hours, according to Interfax. The president added that the column is currently just 80 kilometers away.
This is a developing story.