<Anchor>
Ukraine has raised suspicions that
Russian troops have used white phosphorus in the eastern battlegrounds. White phosphorus is a weapon that is particularly condemned for its use because it is deadly to the human body. A day before Victory Day, tensions are rising in Russia, with events being canceled one after another for fear of a Ukrainian counterattack.

Sung-Hoon Lee is a reporter.

<Reporter>
Flashes of light rain from the
sky, and buildings burn everywhere.

Footage is believed to have been taken of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian forces used white phosphorus to turn the tide against them.

White phosphorus is a chemical weapon that scatters flammable white phosphorus fragments, causing extreme burns when the fragments come into contact with the body.

With Ukraine heralding a "spring counterattack," war clouds are looming again.

Zaporizhia, where Russia controls about 80 percent, has already been ordered by the governor to evacuate villages near the front.

In many parts of Russia, Victory Day parades have been canceled due to concerns about attacks on Ukraine.

Victory Day has been used by Russian President Putin as an opportunity to demonstrate his military might, but he has taken a step back in anticipation of a counterattack.

In the midst of this, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it destroyed 22 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea.

[Igor Konashenkov/Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman: All Ukrainian drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft missile systems or suppressed by electronic warfare]

Russian authorities fear that Moscow and St. Petersburg could be subject to Ukrainian drone strikes, and are reportedly considering canceling an air force parade at the Victory Day parade there.

(Video editing by Kim Jin-won)