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Emergency Service: Mine explosion injures civilian in Kharkiv Oblast

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 18, 2023 10:33 PM 1 min read
This photograph shows a warning sign which reads "Dangerous mines" placed near destroyed houses during a demining operation in Hrakove village, Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on April 18, 2023. (SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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A woman was injured in an explosion caused by an anti-personnel mine in Kharkiv Oblast's Balakliia on April 18, reported the regional department of Ukraine's Emergency Service.

The woman stepped on the PFM-1 landmine, also known as Butterfly Mine, "almost in the city center" and suffered a laceration to her left foot, according to the report.

This mine type is "designed to maim people" and "guaranteed" to injure a person's lower limbs, the first responders wrote. "A few kilograms" of pressure is enough to activate it, they added.

Ukrainian forces liberated Balakliia and most of Kharkiv Oblast in September 2022 after about six months of Russian occupation.

Although de-mining teams have worked for months in these areas, the danger of mines and other unexploded ordnance remains high for civilians.

Defense minister: 5,000 specialists needed to demine Ukraine
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov estimated that it could take up to 30 years to fully remove Russian-planted mines from Ukrainian territory.

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