On Friday, Human Rights Watch reported that it has "observed new evidence of Ukrainian forces using banned anti-personnel landmines indiscriminately against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022." The organization called on the Ukrainian government to adhere to a commitment made earlier this month to refrain from using such weapons, investigate potential instances of their use, and hold those responsible accountable.
Steve Goose, the director of the organization's Arms Division, stated in a press release: "The Ukrainian government's commitment to investigate the possibility that its army used banned anti-personnel mines is an important acknowledgment of its duty to protect civilians."
The organization mentioned that it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a letter sent in May, to which Ukraine did not respond.
The report also noted that Russia has not joined the convention, and its use of anti-personnel mines "violates international humanitarian law as such weapons are inherently indiscriminate."
The new report is a continuation of a report published in January, which indicated that Ukrainian soldiers launched rockets that spread thousands of PMF-1 mines in areas occupied by Russia and around the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine from April to September 2022, when Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city.
The latest report stated that "new evidence regarding the use of anti-personnel mines by Ukrainian forces in 2022 came from images shared online by an individual working in eastern Ukraine, showing parts of the warheads from 220mm Uragan rockets."
The report clarified that “each of these rockets randomly disperses 312 anti-personnel mines of the PFMs-1S type."
Analysis of handwritten markings on one of the rockets concluded that the first word means "from" in Ukrainian, while the second word, written in the Latin alphabet, pertains to an organization in Kyiv, though the report did not specify which one.
It was also noted in the report that the individual leading the organization, whose identity was not disclosed, posted on social media "indicating that they donated funds to the Ukrainian army through one of the non-governmental organizations."
