Fearless soldiers

In the latest example of complete fearlessness, brave Ukrainian soldiers quietly knocked anti-tank mines from a road leading out of Kyiv.

Footage circulated on social media of three camouflaged troops putting the explosive devices to the side of the road with their feet.

The mines often take a great deal of pressure to detonate, but the clip nevertheless demonstrates the steely determination that has characterised Volodymyr Zelensky’s men throughout the Russian invasion.

As they begin to withdraw from the area around Kyiv, Russia has begun placing explosives on highways and bridges throughout Ukraine.

Similar video appeared yesterday, showing residents carefully driving their automobiles across minefields left by the Red Army in Ukraine.

The drivers were observed crossing one by one, driving their vehicles across the minefield – all while being inches from from death.

Footage from Borodyanka, a town in Kyiv Oblast, shows mines filling the whole width of a bridge and arranged in diagonal rows, implying that any vehicle driven across them in a straight line would almost certainly set them off and be destroyed.

The rows of mines, which were positioned four-high across the bridge, meant that citizens who wanted to travel through the perilous trap had to angle their automobiles such that their tyres ran parallel to the explosives to avoid setting them off.

A line of automobiles is seen drawn up to the side of the two-lane road in the terrifying footage, with the drivers calmly waiting their turn to drive their vehicles over the severely mined stretch.

Three crossings are seen in the video, which was shot by someone standing on the other side of the mines from where the cars are parked.

The first driver, who is also carrying a small trailer, is shown lining up their vehicle to the minefield before fearlessly moving ahead, carefully maintaining their tyres on each side of a curving row of explosives.

Every second is spent worrying that the smallest mistake may set off the mines, ruin the automobile, and very certainly kill the driver inside.

However, the worries are unwarranted. Four mines pass beneath the car and trailer before the driver successfully crosses to the opposite side.

The next two drivers look to be more cautious. The second is driving a bigger vehicle, which brings its wheels considerably closer to the mines on each side of it.

However, the driver, like the previous, is able to clear the mines and proceed down the road.

The third motorist aligns their wheels even more clumsily. The video concludes with their car halfway through the minefield and before they reach the other side.

It is unknown how the mines were discovered. The little circular devices are low on the road, and any speeding car might simply drive right into them.

The footage comes after a human rights organisation revealed that Russian military used prohibited antipersonnel mines during their invasion of Ukraine.

According to Human Rights Watch, POM-3 anti-personnel mines that did not detonate were discovered in the besieged city of Kharkiv, despite international treaties prohibiting their usage.

The ‘Medallion’ mines, according to the campaign organisation, have been deployed by Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.

Footage on the internet purports to show armoured vehicles firing hundreds of them towards Kharkiv from a distance of nine kilometres.

The gadgets are parachute-descended before being buried or fixed into the ground.

If a’seismic detector’ within detects movement, an explosive charge is detonated, sending shrapnel flying.

The worldwide Mine Ban Treaty of 1997 prohibits the use of landmines. Although Russia is not one of the 164 signatories, Ukraine is.

‘These weapons do not distinguish between soldiers and civilians and leave a lethal legacy,’ said Stephen Goose, head of the group’s armaments branch.

According to Human Rights Watch, a delivery canister remnant photographed in Ukraine contains POM-3 mines that failed to launch correctly, with marks indicating it was manufactured last year.

‘Countries all around the globe should strongly denounce Russia’s use of outlawed anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine,’ Mr Goose continued.

‘(It) willfully violates the international norm against the use of these heinous weapons.’

Demining a nation after a conflict to make the soil safe for human usage again may be a lengthy and difficult task.

Lost mines may remain undetected for years, and unwary people might drive or walk over them, posing a long-term threat to war-torn regions.