Threat to rear areas: Expert warns "Shahed" drones may drop hard-to-detect mines

Russian forces have altered their mining tactics, increasingly using modernised PMD-6 anti-personnel mines. The updated version of the Soviet weapon has been adapted specifically for winter conditions and poses heightened risks to both troops and civilians.

Military observer Oleksandr Kovalenko reported this.

PMD-6 mine and Russian modifications

The original PMD-6 is a Soviet pressure-activated anti-personnel mine developed in the 1930s. In the standard Soviet version, it had a wooden casing with a 200-gram TNT block inside. Modern Russian industry, however, has substantially modernized this obsolete munition.

Key differences in the updated version:

• Plastic casing: white plastic has replaced wood, making the mine nearly invisible in snow.

• Harder detection: with virtually no metal components in the casing except the detonator, modern mine detectors may fail to register it, complicating clearance efforts.

Weighing under 300 grams, the device has created new delivery possibilities for occupying forces. PMD-6 mines can now be widely dropped even from light FPV drones, enabling the enemy to remotely scatter hazardous traps across large areas.
Kovalenko says Russian forces are currently using these mines mainly along the front line and in adjacent rear zones, though the threat could extend much further.

Risk to deep rear areas

The military observer warns the enemy could use the new tactic to terrorize civilian cities far from the front line.

“This does not mean the occupiers will not start using them on long-range drones, "Shahed-136", to drop them over deep rear areas, as is already being done with PTM-3 anti-tank mines,” the expert stressed.

He again urged Ukrainians to follow mine safety rules, stressing that suspicious objects must not be approached or touched and should be immediately reported to emergency services or police.