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.
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.
The colonel also added that Kiev forces use "live demining" tactics on the battlefield, sending infantry into minefields under the fire of Russian artillery.