The government of Kharkov, Ukraine began to clear landmines in residential areas

A member of a bomb disposal team conducts a controlled explosion of unexploed mines in Kharkov, Ukraine, April 11 – Photo: REUTERS

Authorities in Kharkov, a city in northeastern Ukraine, warned people not to approach areas with landmines for safety reasons.

Mr. Nikolay Ovcharuk, head of the unit demining Ukraine’s state emergency service said it was a PTM-1M plastic mine, which was detonated using a timer and was widely used by Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Follow meng Ovcharuk, this type of mine has appointment set self-destruct time.

Reuters said the airline’s reporters could not independently verify the type of mine in question, but said Mr Ovcharuk’s forces had broadcast loudspeakers warning people not to approach the fenced area where mine clearance teams were working. job.

Scattered mines such as the PTM-1M are banned under the Ottawa treaty on anti-personnel mines due to the risk of civilian casualties.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities warned that Russian forces had dropped “parachute bombs” on Kharkov. People said these bombs fell at dawn on April 11th.

“At 1 a.m. we heard some strange sounds, like a whistling sound, and then the sound disappeared,” said local resident Sergey.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of war crimes, but Russia denies targeting civilians.

Russia conducted a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

Russia asserts that it ‘speaks and fights’ with Ukraine at the same time

TTO – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on April 11 that Russia would continue to negotiate peace with Ukraine, but he insisted that Moscow would not halt its military operation when the two sides return to negotiations.