Human Rights Watch warns Ukraine about use of banned “butterfly” mines

Behind closed-door staff meetings, Westerners are warning Ukrainian forces against excesses and excesses that would tarnish their reputation. “There will be an image risk“A French soldier following the war in Ukraine explained to a general who was interrogating him about the consequences of published abuses. Anything that might scratch the Ukrainian camp threatens to erode public support. Social networks are buzzing with rumors and “fake news”. Sometimes gray areas appear. Amnesty International’s report published this summer served Russian propaganda like this. it accused Ukraine of using schools or hospitals as military bases, giving the impression of aligning the aggressor and the defender. This Tuesday, Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) new report on the use of anti-personnel landmines in the Ukrainian conflict will therefore be read with attention and caution.

If the Russian military is already guilty of many war crimes at the origin of the conflict, Ukraine is not immune to crossing some red lines. “Ukraine must investigate the apparent use of thousands of rocket-propelled anti-personnel mines Easyand around the city when Russian forces occupied the areaHRW writes in a report published on Tuesday morning. The city was occupied by Russian troops from April to September 2022. The NGO investigated there in September and October.

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Human Rights Watch has documented the use of PFM mine-dispersing rockets, known asbutterfly mines“where”petal minesNear the buildings occupied by the Russian military. These mines may have been released by the firing of an artillery cannon. They could be used to prevent the movement of Russian soldiers around their positions and neutralize them if necessary. While the NGO does not challenge Ukraine’s right to defend itself, it reminds Kiev of its obligations to prevent the war from causing civilian casualties. “Russian forces have repeatedly used anti-personnel mines and committed atrocities in all countries, but this does not justify the use of weapons banned by Ukraine.writes HRW’s Arms Department Director Steve Gus.

Prohibition Agreement

Ukraine is a party to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, and has destroyed 3.4 million anti-personnel mines in 1999-2020. In 2021, it still had 3.3 million mines to destroy. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the weapons used by its army at HRW’s request for its report. Moral principles are sometimes tested and mishandled by the urgency and pressure of war.

the mines”petals“where”butterfly“, which owe their nicknames to their shapes and colors, can be dispersed by various media: artillery, aviation…small plastic explosive mines that are fired into an area, land on the ground and detonate when pressure is applied to the body of the mine, such as when a person steps on it. A PFM mine can also detonate when handled or transported. Some PFM mines can self-destruct and detonate randomly up to 40 hours after use“It is said in the HRW report. The organization investigated nine areas near Isium and confirmed at least eleven cases of civilian injuries. The NGO also collected testimony about other possible victims, about fifty, including at least five children, it said, showing the danger the weapons pose to civilians.

Although HRW has not been able to identify cases of Russian use of PFM mines, the NGO has documented the use of MOB, MON-50, MON-100, OZM-72, PMN-4, POM-2, POM by Russian forces. -2R and POM-3. He also documented the use of anti-personnel landmines by pro-Russian separatist groups in 2014 and 2015. Russia is not a party to the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.

After the fighting, the Ukrainian armed forces were the first to intervene in demining areas that may have been deliberate.trappedduring their withdrawal by the Russians. They can be hidden in the soil or sometimes on bodies. After demining, the danger is not always completely averted. Other non-governmental organizations, such as Handicap International, work in the liberated areas of Ukraine to carry out preventive work with the population. “We hand out flyers and posters to explain especially to children not to touch anythingPrevention program manager Olga Savchenko explained this fall. “It will take years to mine everythinghe would say