FPV drone footage released by Ukrainian forces shows the destruction of a PKM-1 remote mining system being operated by Russian troops. This video was filmed on the Eastern front of the Russo-Ukraine war, and it highlights one of the lesser talked about side effects of Russian aggression in Ukraine, and that's the wanton use of anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines.

It doesn't take much of a search to see that the Russians have an interesting policy when it comes to landmines. In the past we've written quite a bit about their heavy-handed use of automation in regards to the deployment of landmines, as well as their doctrinal use of non-conventional deployments of the systems.

Most first world military forces deploy landmines in specific patterns and have extensive logging procedures for emplacing mine fields. This practice is conducted to make the removal of the systems easier in a post-war setting, and for the safety of the personnel who will remove the mines at a later date. If you find three landmines in a specific pattern, you can decipher the layout of the entire minefield per the standard operating procedure for emplacement. The Russians however do not subscribe to that mindset.

There is a reason that in places like Afghanistan, even 40 years after their occupation, Russian landmines are still a major threat. That is because the Russians view landmines as an offensive weapon, and will deploy them in unknown quantities with no pattern to saturate an entire area with zero accountability. This is done to effectively deny entire regions they deem not required for their military operations, and there is no thought of removing those mines at a later date because the Russians will deploy these systems in regions that are not essential to their own country's future objectives.

If you haven't personally done a deep dive on Russian landmine warfare yet, I highly recommend giving that a look. There's a few great publications and studies that have been done on the topic that are easy to find, and I'm going to challenge each and every one of you to put your research hats on to go out and find it.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com