POM-3 mine
{{Short description|Russian anti-personnel mine}}
The POM-3 "Medallion" (ПOM-3, {{Langx|ru|Противопехотная Осколочная Мина|lit=anti-infantry fragmentation mine}}) is a Russian bounding anti-personnel mine.
Design
The POM-3 is a scatterable mine of roughly cylindrical shape, able to be deployed from the air or by ground forces.{{Cite web |title=CAT-UXO - Pom 3 landmine |url=https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/landmines/pom-3-landmine |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Collective Awareness to Unexploded Ordnance (CAT-UXO) |language=en}} The Russian ISDM Zemledelie mine-laying rocket launcher, in service since 2021, can deploy the mines in a range from 5 to 15 km.{{Cite news |last=Nicholls |first=Dominic |date=2022-03-30 |title=Russia using banned ‘jumping’ landmines in Ukraine |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/30/russia-criticised-using-banned-landmines-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |issn=0307-1235}} Once the mine hits the ground, stabilized by a small parachute, it stands upright on six spring-loaded feet on hard ground, or sticks into the ground if it is soft.
The mine is activated by a seismic sensor forced into the ground. The sensor detects approaching footsteps and activates the mine if it determines that a person is within lethal range (about 16 meters). Upon activation, a fragmentation charge is ejected into the air and explodes. The mine has a self-destruct fuze that detonates the mine 8 or 24 hours after deployment.
The POM-3 weighs 1.3kg and has a shelf-life of 11 years.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-15 |title=Russian POM-3 anti-personnel landmines documented in Ukraine (2022) |work= Armament Research Services (ARES) |url=https://armamentresearch.com/russian-pom-3-anti-personnel-landmines-documented-in-ukraine-2022/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |language=en-GB}}
Use in war
Human Rights Watch reported in March 2022 that Russian forces in the eastern Kharkiv oblast used POM-3 mines in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-29 |title=Ukraine: Russia Uses Banned Antipersonnel Landmines |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/29/ukraine-russia-uses-banned-antipersonnel-landmines |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}} The use of anti-personnel mines is prohibited by the Ottawa Treaty, to which Ukraine, but not Russia, is a party.