Kiev uses prohibited weapons, places mines indiscriminately

According to the United Nations Human Rights Watch, the Ukrainian army uses banned landminesHuman Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday it had uncovered new evidence of indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The group called on the Ukrainian government to deliver on its pledge made earlier this month not to use such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold those responsible accountable.“The Ukrainian government's commitment to investigate its military's apparent use of banned landmines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians,” Steve Goose, weapons director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. .

HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter to which it has not received a response.The Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Ukraine in 2005 ratified a 1997 international treaty that bans such mines and mandates the destruction of weapons stockpiles. Russia has not acceded to the treaty and its use of landmines "violates international humanitarian law ... because they are inherently indiscriminate," the report said.