British intelligence services report Russian use of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. The weapon is banned by many states. The so-called butterfly mines are said to be particularly dangerous because they come from old Soviet stocks and are difficult to clear.
According to British intelligence services, Russia is most likely using highly dangerous anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. According to a tweet by the British Defense Ministry, Moscow probably wants to defend its front lines in the Ukrainian Donbass region. The mines are extremely dangerous for both troops and local civilians.
Specifically, it is highly probable that mines of the PFM1 and PFM1S type were used in Donetsk and Kramatorsk. The cluster mines of the type PFM1 – ??also called butterfly mine – are “deeply controversial”, it said. The Ottawa Convention prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines. This has been signed by 164 countries, Russia is not one of them.
Ukraine, on the other hand, ratified the agreement in 2005. Recently, Russian state media have repeatedly circulated photos of butterfly mines that had been found in the Donbass and used by Ukraine.
Such butterfly mines had terrible effects during the war in Afghanistan, children there mistook them for toys, according to the British secret services. It is also likely that Russia is using its Soviet-era inventory, which has become ailing over the years and is now even more unpredictable, the British statement said. This represents a significant risk for special forces who demin the areas.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, the British government has regularly published intelligence information on its progress. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
