We find the characteristic identities for the split Casimir operator in the defining and adjoint representations of the $osp(M|N)$ and $s\ell(M|N)$ Lie superalgebras. These identities are used to build the projectors onto invariant subspaces of the representation $T^{\otimes 2}$ of the $osp(M|N)$ and $s\ell(M|N)$ Lie superalgebras in the cases when $T$ is the defining and adjoint representations. For defining representations, the $osp(M|N)$- and $s\ell(M|N)$-invariant solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation are expressed as rational functions of the split Casimir operator. For the adjoint representation, the characteristic identities and invariant projectors obtained are considered from the viewpoint of a universal description of Lie superalgebras by means of the Vogel parametrization. We also construct a universal generating function for higher Casimir operators of the $osp(M|N)$ and $s\ell(M|N)$ Lie superalgebras in the adjoint representation.