Ukraine has been accused of using thousands of banned anti-personnel mines to bombard a Russian-held city which has been left littered with the lethal devices cahalmilmo reports:
HRW said it had spoken to mine clearing workers after Izium was recaptured by Ukraine in September who said it could take “decades” to clear the area of landmines and other unexploded devices. Referring specifically to the butterfly mines, known as PFM devices, one mine clearance expert said: “They are everywhere.”
Steve Goose, director of HRW’s arms division, said: “Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk. Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesn’t justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons.”
Ukraine inherited a large stockpile of antipersonnel mines following the break-up of the Soviet Union. While it has destroyed some 3.4m PFM devices, it reported prior to the Russian invasion that a further 3.3m remained to be disposed of. Separately, officials have said the only types of PFM mines left in Ukrainian possession are fired from artillery rockets.
HRW said it had spoken to healthcare workers in Izium who said around half of the mine-related injuries to civilians it had recorded were traumatic amputations of the foot or lower leg that were consistent with the blast caused by PFM devices.
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