Ukraine at OSCE reminds that it neither produces, nor uses landmines

"In response to questions raised during the previous meeting of the Forum by a delegation of the participating country which is not a party to the Mine Ban Convention and which believes in the usefulness of anti-personnel landmines, let me say the following. Our presentation at the previous meeting of the Forum was intended to highlight the Russian-made anti-personnel landmines in the conflict zone. Ukraine, being party to the Mine Ban Convention, neither produces nor supplies or uses anti-personnel landmines," Ihor Lossovsky, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on Wednesday, February 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Ukraine has not produced landmines since the declaration of its independence in 1991, the diplomat stressed.

"All anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine have been inherited from Soviet times, and we are determined to destroy them in accordance with our obligations. These landmines are kept under strict national and international control. At the moment, Ukraine has already destroyed the series of PMN, POM-2, POMZ, PMD-6 anti-personnel mines," Lossovsky said.

He also recalled that the presentation of Ukrainian delegation at the last meeting gave an example of the use of MON-50 directional anti-personnel landmine which was discovered near the town of Popasna in Luhansk region on March 21, 2016. According to mine marking, it was produced in 2003 at the Polymer plant in Chapayevsk town of Samara region in the Russian Federation.

The Russian armed formations in eastern Ukraine actively use MON-50 and OZM-72 as mine traps and all anti-personnel landmines in Donbas are of Russian origin, the Ukrainian diplomat stressed.

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