Ukraine: Mines and Mine Injury Patterns

 MINES AND MINE INJURY PATTERNS

Modern mines have been in use since WWII, and mine-like devices have been used for centuries. In 1997, 164 nations (including Ukraine) signed the Anti-Landmine “Ottawa Treaty”. This treaty prohibits the production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of anti-personnnel mines. The US, Russia, and China have not signed the Ottawa Treaty, nor have they joined the other 124 signatories to the 2008 CCM Treaty, which prohibits cluster munitions. Under the Geneva Conventions (signed by China, the US, Russia, and Ukraine), it is considered a war crime to place minefields without marking and recording them for later removal

A major driver of these treaties was the fact that mines pose an enduring risk post-conflict. Most landmine victims are civilians. Mines cost as little as $3 each to produce, but may cost $1,000 apiece to remove. New “smart mines” are designed to self-destruct after a certain amount of time; however, they do not do so reliably.  It is estimated that over 110 million active landmines are still buried in over 60 countries around the world. 

Both Ukraine and Russia have placed mines in the Ukraine War. Ukraine is currently the most heavily mined country in the world. It is considered “massively contaminated”, with more than 2 million mines affecting 40% of Ukrainian territory. IN EAST UKRAINE, ALWAYS ASSUME ANY GROUND OR STRUCTURES THAT DO NOT RECEIVE REGULAR FOOT OR VEHICLE TRAFFIC ARE CONTAMINATED WITH MINES OR OTHER UXO.  Over 70% of minefields and battle areas assessed by HALO Trust in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv Oblasts contain complex clearing challenges such as tripwires, magnetic influence mines, stacked mines, and seismic mines. HALO is pioneering new clearing technologies, such as survey drones and AI satellite imagery analysis. 

Mines are broadly categorized as either  anti-personnel (triggered by as little as 5-15kg) or anti-vehicle (triggered by ~100+ kg). Uses include defensive barriers, disrupting or channeling enemy movements, and protection of strategic areas. Mines may be buried, emplaced above ground by hand, or delivered by aircraft or rockets.They may be triggered by pressure, tripwire, magnets, time mechanism, or the command of an observer. In most models, activation drives a firing pin into a detonator cap, which ignites the main charge.   

In Ukraine, mines are not the only UXO threat in former conflict areas. Empty structures and fortifications may be booby-trapped by retreating forces with tripwire mines and other explosive hazards.

Many antipersonnel mines are designed to injure rather than kill, in order to increase logistical burden on the enemy. ICRC has identified three main landmine injury patterns:

Pattern 1: Blast Mines

A victim stands in a buried landmine, causing a traumatic amputation of a lower limb. The blast wave travels up the leg, fracturing bone. Blast gases strip flesh from bone, disrupt vascular and nerve attachments, and drive fragments from the soil and mine casing deep into the flesh. The blast may separate skin from underlying tissue and muscle, and it may burst tissues where fluid and air are next to each other (eardrums, bowel, lungs). 

Pattern 2: Fragmentation Mines

A victim is injured by multiple fragments from an exploding landmine, causing penetrating injuries to the head, neck, and abdomen. Bounding mines spring up to a height of about 1 meter before releasing fragments. Fragments consist of many small metal balls or other materials. There may be little obvious injury other than many small puncture wounds, however the potential for internal bleeding and infection is extremely high.

Pattern 3: Blast or Fragmentation Mines

A victim handles a landmine, causing severe injuries to the upper limbs and face, including eyes. 

Buried blast mines pose the greatest lingering clearance challenges worldwide. The ground in which a mine is buried has a huge affect on the amount of blast energy is delivered to the victim. When the mine detonates, an expanding sphere of hot gas drives a shock wave ahead of it. Dry, loose sand allows this sphere and shockwave to dissipate downwards into the ground, as well as upwards. If the ground is frozen, hard, packed earth or saturated clay, energy is reflected upwards, amplifying the damage done to the victim. 

Recovery is generally prolonged, and may be complicated by infection, phantom pain, and the need for multiple surgeries. With a prosthesis, an above-knee amputation requires about 100% more energy to walk, while a below-the-knee amputation only requires 15% more energy. REPOSITIONING A TOURNIQUET AS LOW AS POSSIBLE ON THE AMPUTATED LIMB CAN HAVE A MAJOR EFFECT ON FUTURE QUALITY OF LIFE.

Anti-Vehicle Mine injury patterns:

First, If the blast penetrates the floor or sides of the vehicle, occupants are exposed to blast pressure, heat, and fragments from the mine, earth, and floor of the vehicle. The floor of the vehicle adjacent to the breach may deform and produce additional blunt and penetrating injuries.

Second, the floor may remain intact, but act as a “drum”, turning loose objects in the vehicle into projectiles. Floor deformation and sudden loading forces may cause fractures to long bones and the spinal column.

Third, the force of the blast may throw or overturn the vehicle without penetrating the floor or sides. 

ICRC Anti-personnel landmines page

APOPO- Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development

CEPA: An Explosive Choice: Landmines and Ukraine

Landmines- all you Never Wanted to Know, by the SJH Project

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CAN YOU FIND THE TWO PETAL MINES IN THE PICTURE?