Statements regarding possible Russian attacks on Ukrainian logistics and remote mining of highways in the deep rear have sparked active discussion. Military expert Oleksiy Hetman believes that such actions are technically possible, but their effectiveness will be minimal. He shared this in a commentary to UNN.
Remote mining is technically possible
Following statements by volunteer Maria Berlinska that Russia may be preparing to mine highways between major cities and strike logistics, UNN asked military expert Oleksiy Hetman how realistic such a scenario is.
According to the expert, remote mining technology has existed for a long time and is actively used worldwide.
Remote mining is possible. There are certain means that can be installed on a drone or another carrier. This could be a cluster munition that scatters mines – either anti-personnel or anti-tank. Theoretically, such mining is possible
At the same time, he emphasized that large-scale mining of highways in Ukraine's deep rear appears ineffective.
One can imagine mines being dropped on a certain road. But it doesn't look like a critical threat. They can be cleared quite quickly. To put it bluntly, they can be moved even with a tractor. Therefore, in my opinion, the danger here is somewhat exaggerated
Mass mining of highways will not change the situation
Hetman emphasized that any enemy actions during wartime carry risks, but they must be assessed from the perspective of real military effectiveness.
During a war, you cannot say that a certain threat is not a threat at all. Any threat is a danger. But one shouldn't say that "all is lost" either. It is necessary to look at it from military logic – to what extent this can actually affect our capabilities
The expert believes that remote mining of roads in the rear is unlikely to seriously disrupt Ukraine's logistics.
One can assume such a thing, but it doesn't look like something capable of significantly changing the situation. If the enemy starts doing this, we have exactly the same capabilities for mirror actions. But from the point of view of expediency, it has almost zero effectiveness
What remote mining might look like
The military expert explained that this could involve the use of cluster munitions or drones that scatter mines over a certain territory.
By and large, it could look like this – a drone or a missile flies and scatters mines. That's how remote mining works. A cluster munition falls and scatters submunitions, which can be mines
At the same time, Hetman pointed out that such technology is not new.
This is standard practice for using cluster munitions. There is nothing new or fantastic here. Such technologies have existed for decades
Russia has already used similar tactics
According to Hetman, Russian troops have already used remote mining during combat operations in southern Ukraine.
They remotely mined territories when we were preparing the offensive operation at Robotyne. Similarly, they mined everything approaching their positions
At the same time, the expert reminded that remote demining tools also exist.
There are remote demining technologies. This doesn't mean you have to manually go through every meter of territory. Such means exist and are actively used
Cluster munitions leave dangerous unexploded elements
Separately, the military expert drew attention to the danger of unexploded cluster elements that may remain after shelling.
In Russian cluster munitions, approximately half of the submunitions may not explode immediately. They remain dangerous – they can be triggered by a person, an animal, or equipment, and then an explosion occurs. For example, 95% of American munitions explode, while for Russians it's 50%
Hetman also recalled that similar cases have already occurred, for example, in Mykolaiv and in southern Ukraine in 2022.
The city of Mykolaiv was very often shelled with cluster munitions. Unfortunately, some of these elements can remain dangerous for years
Summarizing, Oleksiy Hetman believes that remote mining of highways and attempts to attack logistics in Ukraine's deep rear are technically possible, but their military effectiveness appears doubtful.
Such things are possible, and the Russians have already used similar technologies. But to say that this is capable of seriously paralyzing logistics across all of Ukraine is an exaggeration. This is more of an informational effect and an attempt to intimidate the population. From a military point of view, the effectiveness of such actions is close to minimal