The local authorities say Kiev’s forces deployed the same maiming munitions as in Donetsk
The military-civilian administration in Kharkov Region has accused Ukrainian forces of using cluster munitions to disperse anti-personnel mines in the village of Tokarevka. The mines, which are banned by a 1997 agreement, have also been deployed in Donetsk, officials there say.
The administration announced having discovered the mines in a Telegram post on Sunday that showed a picture of a green butterfly-shaped device nestled in a patch of weeds. The mine, apparently a Soviet-era PFM-1, was almost invisible among the foliage.
Such munitions are typically scattered in large quantities, either by aircraft or artillery. Designed to maim rather than kill, they are capable of blowing off or disfiguring a victim’s foot. The PFM-1 is banned under the 1997 Ottawa Convention, to which Ukraine is party.
The Kharkov administration accused the “Kiev regime” of planting the explosives.
The same mines have been showered across the city of Donetsk, in the Donetsk People’s Republic, throughout the past week. Donetsk Mayor Alexey Kulemzin said on Sunday that two people had sustained injuries from the landmines, including a first responder who lost a foot.
READ MORE: More civilians maimed by Ukrainian landmines dropped on Donetsk – mayor
Photos and video footage from the city showed residents placing cardboard boxes over the mines and marking the surrounding areas with warning signs. Kulemzin said on Sunday that more than 600 such mines had been disposed of in the preceding two days.
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