Russian troops planting child-killing landmines that look like toys in Ukraine

dailystar.co.uk:

Russian troops are planting child-killing landmines that look like toys across Ukraine in a bid to keep control of seized territory.

Military experts say Ukrainian armed forces have not just repelled Vladimir Putin’s invaders but are pushing them back. The Russians are now deploying mines to try to hold on to ground they have gained in fierce firefights.But the move could leave Ukraine a giant death trap littered with buried explosives for years.Many of the mines look like toys - which encourages children to pick them up.US think-tank The Institute for the Study of War said Russian troops were using mine-planting to strengthening their positions around Ukrainian capital Kyiv and in other parts of the country.Satellite images showed troops digging trenches and fortifications around military equipment north-west of the city.Russians were generally beginning to set conditions to hold in approximately their current forward positions for an indefinite time’, the institute said.

More mines were spotted being laid near the northern city of Chernihiv. A military source said deploying them showed Russia adopting a new defensive posture’.

The tactic allows troops to attack cities knowing any counter-attack would have to negotiate minefields or be channelled between them making them easier to hit."It indicates that they are in it for the long haul,’’ the source said.The National Security and Defence Council released a public service announcement telling Ukrainian citizens not to touch PFM-1s, or `butterfly mines’.They are fired from mortars or released by aircraft and glide to the ground only exploding on later contact.