- Sputnik Africa, 1920, 10.04.2023
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate and defend the inhabitants of the Donbass region, where people have been suffering from a blockade and regular attacks by the Kiev regime's forces since 2014.

Kiev's Lepestok Mines Especially Deadly for Children, Says Hero of Russia Soldier

© Sputnik . Viktor Antonyuk / Go to the mediabankThe PMF-1 Lepestok (Petal) antipersonnel pressure-type landmine
The PMF-1 Lepestok (Petal) antipersonnel pressure-type landmine - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 06.09.2023
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Colonel Rustam Saifullin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for courage and heroism in the performance of combat tasks during the Russian special operation in Ukraine. In one of his battles, he continued to command his forces under enemy fire despite heavy wounds.
Lepestok mines employed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians pose a particular danger to children, Russian Colonel Rustam Saifullin told Sputnik. While an adult would be seriously injured by stepping on such a mine, there may be "nothing left" of a child if they detonate it, he added.

"It's one thing for a grown man to step on a mine and have it tear off his foot, it's quite another for a five-year-old to tread on a mine. There may be nothing left of the child," Saifullin remarked.

The Lepestok anti-personnel landmine (PFM-1) is designed to damage feet and is triggered when a person steps on it. It is installed on the ground by remote mine-laying means.

The danger of the mine is that the brown or green silhouette, 12 centimeters long and 6.5 centimeters wide, is far from visible on the ground, especially at night.

Earlier, the Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations sent a letter to the Security Council about Kiev's use of Lepestok anti-personnel mines against the civilian population of Donbass. The letter was also forwarded to the UN secretary-general.
In 2005, Ukraine ratified the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines, which makes Kiev a violator of its international obligations.
Saifullin recalled that the Ukrainian military and nationalists used Lepestok mines against civilians en masse.
"A mine is such a munition, it doesn't care if a military person steps on it or a civilian," the Hero of Russia explained.
Sappers of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces search for mines and shells at former Ukrainian positions in Mariupol. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 05.09.2023
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
Ukraine Throws Soldiers Into Minefields For 'Live Demining,' Hero of Russia Soldier Says
The colonel also added that Kiev forces use "live demining" tactics on the battlefield, sending infantry into minefields under the fire of Russian artillery.
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