Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed new evidence on Friday, suggesting that Ukrainian forces have been employing banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Human Rights Watch announced the discovery of new evidence and documents on the use of banned mines by the Ukrainian army against Russian soldiers.
The United Nations human rights watchdog announced on Friday that it has discovered new evidence of the Ukrainian military’s indiscriminate use of banned anti-personnel mines against Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Human Rights Watch called on the Ukrainian government to fulfill its obligations regarding the non-use of such weapons, investigate the suspected cases of using these weapons, and hold the responsible people accountable.
“Steve Goss,” head of Human Rights Watch’s weapons committee, said in a statement that the Kyiv government’s commitment to investigate the military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel landmines and to recognize it is an important part of the government’s duty to protect civilians.
In its statement, Human Rights Watch also emphasized that it announced its findings in a letter to the Ukrainian government in May, but did not receive a response.
Reuters says that the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to this news agency’s request for clarification.
According to the documents and findings of Human Rights Watch, 11 civilians, including one killed and several were amputated as a result of the anti-personnel mines of the Ukrainian army, were victims of the anti-personnel mines of the Ukrainian army in the areas controlled by Russia in Ukraine, including in the east of the city of Izium, during the past year.
In 2005, Ukraine signed the international treaty on the prohibition of the use of anti-personnel mines and the destruction of stockpiles of prohibited weapons.
Human Rights Watch continued its statement by saying that Russia has not yet joined this treaty.
The RFM-1 anti-personnel mines used by the Ukrainian military are small plastic explosive mines that detonate upon physical contact such as stepping on them or approaching them. These mines can be a serious threat to civilians long after the end of the war.
Before this, reports have been published about sending ammunition containing depleted uranium from some European countries, including England, to Ukraine.
According to Euronews, such shells were used by the United States during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including T-72 tanks, which are still being used in the war against Ukraine.
