REUTERS
Russian-backed mercenaries resort to the scorched earth tactics, setting fire to infrastructure and crops, polluting and poisoning drinking water sources in the Ukrainian-controlled settlements near the strategic port city of Mariupol, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.
"In the Mariupol sector, our fortified positions near the towns of Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the villages of Pavlopil and Talakivka came under enemy fire from grenade launchers and small arms," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook.
"Insidious and cynical, the enemy uses incendiary ammunition of different calibers in the night time, aiming at trees and dried vegetation across the fields, and when the fire sparks, militants start shelling the Ukrainian positions, making use of a smoke screen," reads the report.
"The scorched earth tactic is nominally considered a war crime by international law," the headquarters said.