Landmines are small and unassuming devices that have considerable effects in modern war.
In Ukraine, for example, they have been used extensively to hold defensive positions, stop enemy operations, and make everyone’s life more miserable.
While not as groundbreaking as drones, landmines have played a vital role in the current conflict.
How Landmines are Used
First, it is important to lay some groundwork before analyzing the use of mines in Ukraine. Landmines can typically be divided into two categories: antipersonnel and anti-vehicle. The titles are self-explanatory; one is used against infantry, and the other against vehicles.
In defensive operations, landmines are laid at points where enemy forces are expected to cross to hamper enemy movements as much as possible. Clever engineers might also lay minefields to funnel enemy forces into a fire bag, but this requires appropriate terrain and coordination with artillery units. Smaller mines can be deployed and dispersed through specialized types of rockets (which we will discuss later), or they can be laid down by wheeled drones, as has been the case in Ukraine.
Mines can be a double-edged sword for defenders. While they are most helpful for defensive operations, they can be just as problematic when the defenders switch to offensive operations. Coordination between engineering units and sappers is also critical, as oftentimes, the only people who know the location of minefields are the ones who laid them. In the past, poor communication often resulted in armies walking into their own fields.
Landmines in Ukraine
Because landmines are relatively cheap and can be so easily distributed nowadays, both Russia and Ukraine have been deploying mines extensively throughout the war.
Most reports detail that Ukraine is littered with over 2 million mines, the most on Earth.
Removal efforts of landmines are estimated to be around $34.6 billion. This estimate is all within the territory that Ukraine controls. Furthermore, crafty sappers usually use mines as boobytraps, meaning any newly captured territory must be thoroughly demined before it is deemed safe. These mines present huge humanitarian problems to civilians living in villages near the front lines or trying to return to their homes who have to deal with mines frequently.
Mines and the Zaporizhzhia Debacle
Landmines have been instrumental in certain operations in this war. The most infamous example is the so-called “Surovikin line” in Zaporizhzhia. During the ill-fated 2023 counteroffensive by Ukraine, landmines were used intensely throughout central Ukraine. These mines, along with attack helicopters, drones, and artillery, made life h— for the advancing Ukrainians. Mines accounted for a large number of disabled tanks and armored vehicles, including the newly introduced Leopard 2 and M2 Bradleys. Unfortunately, there is no concrete data to tell us how many were disabled by mines, but the extensive amount of footage speaks for itself. Zaporizhzhia was sadly a killing field.
Lepestok Antipersonnel Mines
Not all mines are strictly made for killing; some mines need only to wound or maim enemy soldiers. Such is the case with the PFM-1 Lepestok (or butterfly) mines. These small hand-sized mines were designed to blow off a soldier’s foot and maim them, not to kill them (though the results are quite grisly). Easily dispersed in large numbers by mortar shells, airplanes, or helicopters, they are very easy to miss and easy to step on.
The Ottawa Treaty in 1997 banned the use of antipersonnel mines like the Lepestok (Russia, China, and the U.S. never signed the treaty). Ukraine, although a signatory of the treaty, still held on to its large Soviet-inherited Lepestok mines and possessed a large stockpile of mines in 2021, over three million by some estimates.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using Lepestok mines during the conflict. Residents in the Russian-held city of Donetsk reported the arrival of these mines via artillery shells in the center of the city in 2022. Russia accused Ukraine of mining civilian populated areas, which, if true, would be a war crime on Ukraine’s part, though Ukraine denied such rumors. These mines present a substantial threat to children due to their harmless appearance and coloring. On the front lines, both Russia and Ukraine utilize the Lepestok mines regularly.
How do Russia and Ukraine Deal with Mines?
Every modern army has at least several units tasked with mine clearing. These sappers perform a hazardous task, as most do not know the locations of minefields. Both Russia and Ukraine utilize a wide variety of engineering equipment designed to clear minefields. The UR-77 Meteorit is one such vehicle that clears mines using rockets with lines attached to them. Certain tanks are also fitted with mine plows to clear lanes for other tanks, although this can make them easy targets for observing enemies.
Mine clearing is a long and painstaking process, and knowing whether the job is truly done is impossible. Currently, there are ongoing civilian efforts to clean up mines throughout Ukraine. However, the mines will keep coming as long as the conflict continues. Mines are deadly tools that are worthy of fear and respect. Because of their widespread use, neither side is able to advance quickly, thus prolonging the conflict even further.
About the Author: Isaac Seitz
Isaac Seitz, a Defense Columnist, graduated from Patrick Henry College’s Strategic Intelligence and National Security program. He has also studied Russian at Middlebury Language Schools and has worked as an intelligence Analyst in the private sector.
