Caught on Camera: Ukraine Faces UN Heat Over Use of Banned Lepestok Mines

In a presentation of the Landmine Monitor 2023 report to the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Human Rights Watch has accused Ukraine of multiple violations of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.

Mark Hiznay, editor of Landmine Monitor 2023 and associate director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, alleged that Ukraine has violated the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"There is substantial evidence to believe that Ukraine violated the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines during the fighting in Izium in 2022," the researcher said.

He added that UNIDIR has evidence of the use of anti-personnel mines in the Donbass region, particularly in Donetsk, where locals have recorded videos of mines being planted or detonated.

The PFM-1 Lepestok (Petal), a blast fragmentation anti-personnel mine, is triggered when a person steps on it. The small size and protective color of the casing make these munitions difficult to detect. Cluster munitions are used to mine areas. Ukraine ratified the Ottawa Convention in 2005, which prohibits the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines.

According to an investigation conducted by Human Rights Watch last fall, Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions during the bombardment of Izium and the surrounding area. As a result, at least eight civilians were killed and another 15 were injured. UN experts also reported in their findings that Kiev used cluster bombs.

In February, the website of the Ottawa Convention announced that its chair would hold a dialogue with Ukraine following the publication of the Human Rights Watch report.

Russia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations circulated a letter in the Security Council accusing Kiev of using Lepestok land anti-personnel mines against civilians in Donbass. However, Ukrainian representatives claimed at the annual meeting of the Ottawa Convention in Geneva in June that the Ukrainian armed forces do not use this type of weaponry.