Major highlights of the article
---> UK defense intelligence suggests that Russia is deploying Butterfly mines over Donetsk and Kramatorsk region of Ukraine
--> children are the prime targets due to the toys like look of the mines but similar threat for local population and humanitarians
--> Devastating effects in soviet Afgan war during Afgan Mujqhideen movement.-
-> Banned by international convention on landmines
According to the UK Ministry of Defence Intelligence Update, Russia is to blame for the strikes "Russia most certainly tried to use PFM-1 and PFM-1S scatterable anti-personnel mines in Donetsk and Kramatorsk. The PFM-1 line of weapons, also known as "butterfly mines," are highly contentious, indiscriminate weapons." They continue, "They purportedly wounded a large number of youngsters who mistaken them for toys during the Soviet-Afghan War."
What are butterfly mines ?
Anti-personnel landmines with the designations PFM-1 and PFM-1S are sometimes known as "Butterfly mines" or "Green Parrots." These names were taken from the mines' shape and colour. The PFM-1S mine's self-destruction mechanism activates within one to forty hours, which is the primary distinction between it and the PFM-1 mine. The PFM-1 mine is a Russian and Soviet-made scatterable high explosive anti-personnel landmine. The "Butterfly mine" has a reputation for appealing to kids in particular because of how colorful it appears to be. These are extremely sensitive to touch, and even picking them up can cause them to react.
This little mine frequently maims and injures the handler rather than killing them because of the relatively less explosive that is packed inside of it. These mines can elude metal detectors since they are composed of plastic, which makes them tough to find. These mines can be dropped from helicopters or dispersed using artillery and mortar shells in a ballistic manner, among other methods, on the battlefield. These mines fall to the ground without detonating, but they do so when they make touch with something. These mines acquired the nickname "Green Parrots" because they were originally green in colour. The PFM series mines have two wings, one of which is heavier than the other, and are made of polythene plastic.
The main fuse, which is housed in the middle body, is pressure activated by the thicker wing. When a mine is dropped from the air, its thinner wing stabilizes it, earning it the nickname "butterfly." According to the mine's documentation, a pressure greater than 5 kg will cause its 40g of explosive to detonate. According to some estimates, more than a million "Butterfly mines" were airdropped in valleys and mountain passes throughout Afghanistan in order to obstruct the Afghan Mujahideen's progress. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, PFM-1 was also employed.
Technical specifications of the mine
The PFM series mines have two wings, one of which is heavier than the other, and are made of polythene plastic. The main fuse, which is housed in the middle body, is pressure activated by the thicker wing. When a mine is dropped from the air, its thinner wing stabilizes it, earning it the nickname "butterfly." The field commander may find the mine attractive despite the risk that it poses to nearby non-combatants due to its quick deployment method and ability to be dispersed indiscriminately to obstruct an enemy's advance.
According to the UK defense intelligence these mines contains 40 grams of explosives when explodes when just a pressure of 5 kg is applied over it . For the adults these may not be life threatening but can cause severe lifetime injury.
What is international law for these mines?
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) forbids the use of anti-personnel mines, although Russia and Ukraine have not ratified it. However, Russia and Ukraine are members to the 1996 Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, also known as the Landmines Protocol. As for the present situation both the countries owes these mines so both Ukrainian and Russia are accusing each other of deploying Butterfly mines in their territories.
Despite joining the Mine Ban Treaty in 2006, Ukraine continues to possess millions of butterfly mines in its possession. Despite not having ratified the convention and possessing mines as well, Russia is nevertheless subject to humanitarian law, which forbids targeted assaults on civilian populations without a military purpose. Without any military reason, this was merely a terrorist attack meant to terrorize and indoctrinate the civilian populace.
Human Rights Watch has closely watched the conflict in Ukraine and has recorded earlier uses of landmines. But they are unable to identify the culprit at this time. Mark Hiznay, associate director for arms at HRW, told me, "We are not commenting on these specific allegations at this time because it is unable to independently verify or attribute the reporting." We see that from the start of the war, occasional claims of the employment of this weapon have come from Russian sources.
Both Russia and Ukraine are using the mines ?
There is "no reliable evidence that Ukrainian government forces have used anti-personnel mines," according to HRW's previous report on these allegations, which was published in June. However, they also reported that Russia had used POM-3s, a different type of air-dropped anti-personnel mine, in the Kharkiv region. It will probably be challenging to determine whether the attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces, whether it was a "false flag" strike by Russian forces or local militia, or even whether it was friendly fire. Even though some mines have markings, munitions frequently have serial numbers or manufacturer's codes stamped on them that indicate the date and location of production. However, this may not always be the case.
In any instance, safety comes before the difficulty of acquiring forensic evidence for deminers. A representative from the demining NGO-HALO Trust informed me, "We clear landmines to make local people safe and we typically do it in methods that render them untraceable." Radar or other tracks of rocket launches nearby could possibly serve as evidence. These might reveal where the rockets were launched from and so which side was in charge, if not the precise unit. Such evidence is likely to be disputed, much like in the case of the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. However, it is still possible to apprehend the offenders - eventually - and deter similar assaults on civilians in the future.
US to donate $89 million to assist Ukraine in removing land mines.
According to a senior State Department official, the Biden administration will give Kyiv $89 million to help clear the land mines that now cover large areas of Ukraine as a result of Russia's incursion in February. The official told reporters on Tuesday that the funding will support 100 demining teams in Ukraine for the upcoming year. According to the official, the U.S. would aid Kiev in determining the most contaminated locations and will assist in training and equipping Ukrainian personnel tasked with clearing the minefields.
Comments
Post a Comment