The Ukrainian government should confirm to states parties that remaining stockpiles of PFM antipersonnel mines currently in storage awaiting destruction cannot be used in combat operations. Ukraine should ensure that its forces respect their obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty in all circumstances.Landmines in fields and on rural paths and roads are harming agricultural production.Īll parties to the armed conflict in Ukraine should ensure that no antipersonnel mines are used by any actor and destroy any antipersonnel mines that they have seized or otherwise acquired.Landmine casualties have been reported in the conflict in Ukraine, including by Human Rights Watch, and new mine use can also be seen in the denial of access to homes, infrastructure, transportation routes, and agricultural lands used by civilians.Russia continues to produce both antipersonnel and anti-vehicle mines several new, previously unseen Russian landmines have been identified in use for the first time, including some antipersonnel mines produced as late as 2021.Both Russia and Ukraine stockpile landmines inherited from the former Soviet Union.Several landmine delivery methods have been documented since February 2022: hand-emplaced, mechanically laid, scattered by truck-mounted projectors, and remotely delivered by rockets.Those states include Estonia, France, Germany, Sweden, UK, and the US. States supplying Ukraine with weapons have transferred seven types of anti-vehicle mines.Hand-emplaced TM-62 series anti-vehicle mines appear to be the type most frequently deployed.Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used at least 13 types of anti-vehicle mines (also called anti-tank mines).Booby-traps can function as antipersonnel mines when a person unintentionally activates the fuze and detonates the device. Russian forces also emplaced numerous victim-activated booby-traps as they retreated from positions they had taken, occupied, or fortified during the 2022 invasion.The use of antipersonnel mines by Ukraine is a violation of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, to which Ukraine is party.On January 31, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Human Rights Watch’s findings “will be duly studied by the competent authorities of Ukraine.”.Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk responded by letter to Human Rights Watch’s questions about Ukrainian forces’ use of PFM antipersonnel mines, saying that Ukrainian authorities cannot comment on the types of weapons used during the armed conflict “before the end of the war and the restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”.
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