Soldiers Destroy Land Mines Using Sticks, Tires, and Tanks – Video footage shared on various Telegram accounts recently shows soldiers, and possibly even civilians, clearing anti-personnel mines on Ukrainian roads using a variety of tools. The videos show several men putting their lives in danger to remove the mines, which may have been laid by either Ukrainian or Russian forces.
In one video, shared on the FaceOfWar Telegram account, a Ukrainian soldier can be seen throwing a tire at a landmine in the road. The tire lands directly on the mine and causes it to explode, shooting the tire up into the air and creating a small plume of smoke.
While the soldier survives the small blast, pieces of shrapnel can be seen scattered across the road, and the soldier appears to examine himself for wounds afterward. Likely hurt, the solider survived, and the mine was cleared.
Not the preferred method for clearing anti-personnel mines.https://t.co/GlKdSrdjMw pic.twitter.com/3uQu24mb9U
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 31, 2022
In another video, this time shared on Russian social media website VK, a man can be seen wearing civilian clothing clearing a mine using what looks like a long stick.
Posted on the “Military Informant” page, a man is seen talking to the camera wearing sunglasses. His face is blurred. The video cuts to a clip of him using the long stick as a whip, striking the top of the mine and causing it to explode. After hearing a loud bang, the man recoils, and the clip ends. It’s unclear whether the man injured himself or where the mine was located.
Another example. 2/https://t.co/Mak1T4aXeJ pic.twitter.com/0up4N6yTVs
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 31, 2022
Rob Lee, a military analyst and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, shared a video of a Russian tank clearing land mines in a much safer and more efficient way.
The video, which was originally shared on the “Russian Spring” Telegram account, shows a Russian tank emblazoned with the “Z” symbol on the side, effortlessly driving over a landmine on the road. It explodes, but the tank continues moving and appears completely undamaged.
It is unclear whether the soldiers operating the tank were Russians or Ukrainians, however, given the large number of Russian tanks that have been commandeered by Ukrainian soldiers in various parts of the country.
A video shared by Russian propagandist Maria Dubovikova also showed cars in Donetsk driving over landmines, though this time unintentionally.
Donetsk right now. Ukraine has shelled the central Donetsk with PFM-1, a scatterable anti-personnel land mines (Lepestok). The wheels of the cars are exploding on the mines. pic.twitter.com/jNGDn4nxxh
— Maria Dubovikova (@politblogme) July 30, 2022
“Donetsk right now. Ukraine has shelled the central Donetsk with PFM-1, a scatterable anti-personnel land mines (Lepestok). The wheels of the cars are exploding on the mines,” Dubovikova wrote.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
