A considerable part of the military assistance provided by the West to Ukraine is all kinds of landmines, to be precise, anti-tank landmines.
The Pentagon has provided Ukraine with 5,000 RAAMS (Remote Anti-Armor System) shells, which can be fired by NATO standard 155mm caliber artillery with a range of more than 17.5 kilometers and are loaded with 9 small anti-tank mines. The mines use electromagnetic fuzes. Some of them are also equipped with anti-jamming systems, which can be more effective if used in conjunction with anti-infantry mines.
Schematic diagram of the use of RAAMS (Remote Anti-Armor System) shells
It is reported that the reason why the U.S. government provided RAAMS (Long Range Anti-Armor System) shells to Ukraine is related to the AT2 mines previously provided by the German government to Ukraine: the mine-laying rockets fired by the “Haimas” and M270 rockets can be loaded with 28 AT2 anti-tank Mine, with a range of 38 kilometers, but this kind of mine is relatively large and easy to detect.
German AT2 anti-tank mine
In contrast, RAAMS is relatively small and difficult to find. A 155mm shell can be loaded with 9 RAAMS mines, and 5,000 shells are 45,000 mines.
In addition to the use of anti-tank mines in the defense, the Ukrainian army also used a large number of anti-tank mines in the offensive, which is the so-called “offensive mine”. Especially in the battles in Izum and Liman, the Ukrainian army used rocket launchers. The mines were placed in the vicinity of the Russian army remotely, blocking the road for the Russian army to retreat, forcing the Russian army to retreat according to the passage drawn by the Ukrainian army. When the Russian army retreated from the fortifications, it encountered intensive fire on the road preset by the Ukrainian army. kill.
The DM22 anti-tank side armor mine provided by Germany needs to be manually deployed
Analysts believe that the provision of these advanced anti-tank mines by the United States and other countries to Ukraine is related to the timely feedback of the Ukrainian army. These long-range anti-tank mines have played a good battlefield effect, and it is likely to provide more such advanced anti-tank mines. It is related to the counter-offensive that the Ukrainian army is launching. If it is only a defensive operation, more other types of anti-tank mines will be provided, and there is no need to use special long-range mines.
The Russian army also used a large number of mines in the war, but the number of advanced types of mines used is relatively small, and most of them are old models, and the use of anti-infantry mines is very large. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that a large number of anti-infantry mines and various booby-trapped mines were found in the areas where the Russian army was evacuated; The Ukrainian side denies the accusations in Tsk and other Russian-controlled cities, emphasizing that this is a “false flag operation” carried out by the Russian army and “Donbas militia”.