How to clear a minefield... the Ukrainian way: Fearless soldiers KICK anti-tank mines off a highway after 'retreating' Russians left them behind
Brave Ukrainian soldiers have calmly kicked away anti-tank mines from a road out of Kyiv in the latest display of utter fearlessness.
Footage shared on social media showed the three soldiers in camouflage pushing the explosive devices to the side of the road with their feet.
The mines usually require a large amount of pressure to detonate, but the footage still shows the steely spirit that has defined Volodymyr Zelensky's forces throughout the Russian invasion.
Russia has been leaving mines on roads and bridges throughout Ukraine as they start to retreat from around Kyiv.
Similar footage emerged yesterday showing civilians carefully driving their cars over mines left behind by the Red Army in Ukraine.
The drivers were seen crossing one-by-one, navigating their cars through the mine field - all while coming inches from death.
Footage from Borodyanka, a town in Kyiv Oblast, shows the mines covering the full width of a bridge and positioned in diagonal rows, meaning any vehicle driven across them in a straight line would likely set them off and be destroyed.
The rows of mines, which were placed four-deep across the bridge, meant civilians wanting to pass the treacherous trap had to angle their cars so that their tyres run parallel to the mines to not set them off.
In the nerve-wracking video, a queue of cars is shown pulled up to the side of the two-lane road, with the drivers patiently waiting their turn to drive their vehicles over the heavily mined stretch.
Three crossings are shown in the footage, filmed by someone standing on the other side of the mines to where the cars are queued.
The first driver, whose car is also towing a small trailer, is shown lining their vehicle up to the minefield before bravely pushing forward, safely keeping their tyres either side of a curved row of the explosives.
Each moment is spent fearing the slightest mistake could set off the mines, destroy the car and almost definitely kill the driver inside.
But the fears prove unfounded. Four mines pass underneath the car and the trailer before the driver successfully crosses to the other side without a scratch.
The next two drivers appear more timid. The second is driving a larger vehicle, and so its wheels come much closer to the mines either side of it.
But like the first, the driver is able to clear the mines and continue down the road.
The third driver lines their wheels up more awkwardly. The video ends with their vehicle halfway across the mines, and before they make it to the other side.
It is unclear how the mines were spotted. The small round devices lie low on the road, and so any driver approaching at speed could easily drive straight into them.
The video comes after a human rights group reported that Russian forces have been using banned antipersonnel mines during their invasion of Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch said POM-3 anti-personnel mines that failed to deploy were discovered in the besieged city of Kharkiv, despite international treaties outlawing their use.
The campaign group said the ‘Medallion’ mines have been deployed by Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.
Footage online reportedly shows armoured vehicles firing dozens of them into Kharkiv from nine miles away.
The devices descend by parachute before burying or fixing themselves into the ground.
A ‘seismic detector’ inside senses if someone is approaching and launches an explosive charge, sending shrapnel flying.
The use of landmines is prohibited by the 1997 international Mine Ban Treaty. Russia is not among the 164 signatories but Ukraine is.
Stephen Goose, director of the group’s arms division, said: ‘These weapons do not differentiate between combatants and civilians and leave a deadly legacy.’
Human Rights Watch said that a delivery canister remnant pictured in Ukraine contained POM-3 mines that failed to deploy properly, with markings indicating that it was produced last year.
Mr Goose added: ‘Countries around the world should forcefully condemn Russia’s use of banned anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine.
‘(It) deliberately flouts the international norm against use of these horrid weapons.’
The process of demining a country after a conflict to make the land safe for human use again can be a long and arduous process.
Lost mines can remain hidden for years, and unsuspecting people can drive or walk over them, making them a long-term hazard counties that have seen war.
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