Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) and Pearson Engineering have signed a contract to provide route-opening mine plows to Ukraine.
Germany has sponsored the urgent program, including a large quantity of NATO-proven full-width Pearson mine plows integrated with FFG Wisent 1 armored recovery vehicle.
Delivery in 2023
The mine clearance equipment will be delivered within 2023.
The plow features “ground engaging tines arranged across the full width of the vehicle to displace buried pressure-fused mines.”
The system is often accompanied by Pearson’s obstacle marking system and magnetic signature duplicator. The latter helps diffuse magnetically fused mines at a safe distance.
World’s Most Mined Country
The Russia-Ukraine war has seen an estimated 40 percent of Ukrainian territory riddled with landmines, making it perhaps the most mined country in the world.
According to a Human Rights Watch report, both forces have deployed land mines since the war began, both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines.
Anti-personnel mines are banned under the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, of which Ukraine is a signatory. Anti-vehicle mines are generally permissible under the laws of war.
Both Armies Deployed Banned Mines
“Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk,” director of the Human Rights Watch Arms Division Steve Goose said in the report.
Petal mines are launched by aircraft, rockets, artillery, or specialized vehicles.
“Russia has used these weapons in even greater numbers than Ukraine in a much more widespread fashion in different parts of the country,” Goose told NPR. “But, with these revelations, Ukraine’s “moral high ground has been compromised.”
Izium was liberated in September after six months of Russian occupation.
