The PFM-1S Lepestok (Petal) land anti-personnel mine poses a special hazard to children, Hero of Russia Colonel Rustam Saifullin told Sputnik.
Saifullin, who earlier took part in the Russian special military operation in Ukraine and currently serves as deputy head of the Tyumen Higher Military Engineering Command School, recalled that the Ukrainian military and nationalists had widely and indiscriminately used the internationally-banned Lepestok mines against civilians.
"It's one thing if a man steps on the mine, which will tear off his foot, but it's quite another when a five-year-old child is affected, you understand? There may be nothing left of the child [as a result of the explosion]," the Hero of Russia said, explaining that the Lepestok is a small mine weighing just 80 grams.
This summer saw Human Rights Watch (HRW) urging the Ukrainian government to comply with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and investigate its armed forces for using the Lepestok mines in a new report.
"Since publishing a report in January, Human Rights Watch has uncovered additional evidence regarding Ukrainian use of these indiscriminate weapons during 2022," the new survey read.
In a statement published by HRW earlier this year, the Ukrainian Army was accused of repeatedly shooting rockets bearing thousands of the PFM-1S mines into Russian territory between April and September 2022, which led to civilian casualties.
Ukraine is a signatory to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, an international agreement also known as the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use of all kinds of anti-personnel mines.
Saifullin’s remarks come as Russia continues its special military operation in Ukraine, amid Kiev’s botched counteroffensive. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Tuesday that Ukraine had suffered heavy losses during three months of its summer counteroffensive against Russia but had failed to achieve its goals at any part of the front line.
He said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had lost over 66,000 soldiers and more than 7,600 heavy weapons since the beginning of the counteroffensive in early June.