An Offbeat Research Guide to Unique Landmines Used in Ukraine
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine epitomizes modern warfare: almost every technology available, both military and commercial, has been used in some shape or form in the war effort by both sides in the conflict. From modified off-the-shelf drones and weaponized jet-skis to Starlink terminals and conquests in the social media sphere, technologies and continued innovation have been a constant since February 24, 2022.
Outmoded weapons have also been omnipresent, including technologies originating over 100 years ago, like landmines and artillery – which have caused the vast majority of casualties since the start of the war in late 2014. Landmines first saw widespread use in the mid-1800s, during the American Civil War, and have been a constant in warfare since then, but have also seen continuous development over the past century.
With the progression of the conflict, mainly owing to the relative stability of front lines since the liberation of significant areas by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the autumn of 2022, landmines have been a constant in the war in Ukraine since Russia’s first aggressive moves in 2014. Such mines first appeared along the initial line of contact in the Donbas region, and now litter vast swaths of the country, ubiquitous across any and all areas that have seen war. While some models have been omnipresent, such as the TM62 anti-tank mine, the war has also seen the deployment of novel landmines, both Russian and Western in origin. Some are brand new, invented only in the past few years, while others were developed in the aftermath of World War II but have now been used for the first time in the war in Ukraine. Offbeat Research was able to identify 20 different landmines used in Ukraine that have not been seen previously in active conflict.1
Many of these, particularly those Western in origin, are not practically new but were developed during the Cold War but never deployed in conflicts. They have since however been donated, often en masse, to Ukraine to counter Russian advances and help strengthen defensive positions across the approximately 700 mile frontline. Of those originating from Western allies of Ukraine, the most recently developed are the Estonian PK-14 and the Finnish Mini Hailstorm. The following table includes the type of each mine, and an online source showing their appearance in Ukraine and a link to CAT-UXO, the repository of explosive ordnance information, for each landmine, which contains detailed technical information.
As the conflict progresses, new mines are being developed almost continuously. A recent post on Twitter shows the testing of a new Ukrainian 3D-printed mine based on the Russian MON-5, which entered service with Russia’ Armed Forces in 1965. Such innovation is likely to continue, especially as the relative stasis along the frontlines hold and the military utility of landmines remains evident.
- This is to say that the use of these twenty landmines in other conflicts has not been verified. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reliable open-source accounts have cataloged over 50 unique types of landmines having been used. For technical information on each landmine, please see CAT-UXO, an excellent repository of information and the source of many of the images used in this guide. ↩︎
