Russia accused of war crimes over bombs disguised as wet wipes and power banks | News World

Russia has been dropping booby-trapped tissue boxes and power banks onto the streets of Ukraine in a brand new ‘war against civilians’.

The decoy bombs have been discovered on the streets of the battleground city of Kherson in recent days.

Human rights campaigners have accused Putin’s army of targeting innocent children and adults, who might be killed or lose limbs in the event that they pick up the explosive devices.

Charity Hope for Ukraine say there are even reports of Ukrainian military units being sold the harmful fake power banks.

Russian forces have been dropping anti-personnel mines in Kherson for near two years, but these are the primary reports of explosives being disguised in these apparently harmless items.

Pictures from town, which has been on the front line because the war began, show the makeshift bombs on sidewalks or in parks.

Hope for Ukraine’s CEO Yuriy Boyechko said they were likely flown over enemy lines by a drone and dropped there.

He told Metro: ‘If a curious kid or anyone picks it up, or steps on it, then it explodes immediately. It’s a direct crime against civilians.’

Boyechko believes the Russians are changing tactics because Kherson locals know to avoid the enemy’s uncamouflaged explosives.

These anti-personnel mines have been seen in town since October 2024, the Centre for Information Resilience told Metro.

The weapons are often known as ‘gingerbread’ mines due to their small, flat appearance, which children risk picking up because they give the impression of being like plastic toys.

‘After months of dropping these, people knew to remain away, so the Russians are actually adopting a brand new strategy with these tissue boxes and power banks,’ Boyechko explained.

The booby-trapped charging packs have sparked warnings from local officials.

Yaroslav Shanko, Head of Kherson City Military Administration, warned: ‘The calculation is straightforward and cynical: an individual may mistake such an object for a lost charging device, pick it up, or try to make use of it. The results might be fatal.’

He continued: ‘I urge parents to discuss with their children. Explain to them that you just cannot pick up any items found on the road, even when they give the impression of being secure or useful.’

Putin’s recent tactic has sparked outrage from human rights campaigners, who accused the dictator of breaching the foundations of war.

Lord Alton, chair of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, told Metro: ‘The deliberate disguising of explosives, indiscriminately dropped into civilian neighbourhoods in Ukraine, is yet one more calculated act despicably targeting non combatants.  

‘Inevitably, curious children might be amongst those picking up innocent looking tissue boxes.

‘That may result in fatalities and terrible injuries. In the future, this have to be added to the charge sheet of war crimes.’

Helen Maguire MP, who’s Chair of Parliament’s group on Explosive Weapons and Their Impact, said the camouflaged mines were ‘a very abhorrent development in an already brutal war.’

She added: ‘International law is evident on this: parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilians and military targets, and weapons which are intended to deceive civilians into handling them are incredibly alarming.’

The Liberal Democrat MP continued: ‘The international community have to be swift in its condemnation of those recent tactics utilized by Russia, and proceed to support Ukraine not only in its defence, but in the large task of clearing explosive contamination for years to come back.’

International humanitarian law prohibits directing attacks against civilians, and if the intention was to cause death or injury to civilians, it could potentially amount to a war crime, Amnesty International said.

Brian Dooley, a senior advisor Human Rights First who has hung out on Ukraine’s front line, said the disguised bombs ‘bear all of the hallmarks of Russia’s attacks on civilians in Ukraine’.

Hope for Ukraine also told Metro that booby-trapped power banks were also being flogged to soldiers fighting Russians.

Boyechko explained that many military units raise money for supplies themselves and infrequently buy items like power banks.

He continued: ‘There have been reports that sellers have been selling power banks full of explosives.

‘It looks like a few of these sellers buy supplies that are already compromised.

‘Or these sellers collaborate with the Russians to inflict pain and damage.’

A handful of sellers have been identified as selling compromised units, Hope for Ukraine’s CEO added.

The charity, which supplies urgent humanitarian aid to people affected by the war, are also raising awareness of a ‘brand recent tactic’ employed by Russia to focus on cars, buses and bikes on the roads in Kherson.

Drones are currently obstructed from targeting vehicles on the road on account of anti-drone fishing nets stretched over the streets.

Nonetheless Boyechko has said that the Russians are by-passing the nets and flying drones onto the side of the road.

The floating weapons then hover over the grass and wait for his or her goal to pass by.

‘They land the drone next to a tree, road and it’s so low to the grass it is nearly not visible,’ Boyechko said.

‘As the driving force drives on the road, they activate the drone and hit the automobile from under the nets.’

Ross Burley, co-founder of the Centre for Information Resilience that documents war crimes, said: ‘Russia is popping streets, hospitals and on a regular basis objects into potential death traps.

‘This will not be simply a military tactic; it’s a campaign of terror designed to make Ukrainian civilians fear every step.

‘Sadly, it’s also unsurprising, and what we’ve come to expect from a reasonably abhorrent regime.’

The Russian Embassy in London has been contacted for comment.

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Russian soldier almost kills his colleagues after major fail using rotary machine gun

MORE: Putin ‘might jump out of a window’ after fuel shortages pile on more pressure

MORE: Ukraine destroys 49 of Russia’s shadow fleet ships in crippling strikes