Direct proof of use
Human Rights Watch's June 2023 landmine briefing listed MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200 in a table of antipersonnel landmines used in Ukraine since the February 24, 2022 full-scale invasion. The briefing said Russian forces were known to have used at least 13 types of antipersonnel mines since February 2022, and it placed the MON models in the USSR/Russia directional fragmentation family with tripwire or command initiation.
The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor's Ukraine mine-ban profile independently states that available data indicates extensive Russian use of antipersonnel mines in Ukraine, with at least 13 types deployed. Its table of antipersonnel landmines used by Russia since February 2022 lists MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200 as MON-series hand-emplaced directional multipurpose mines.
Sources: HRW Landmine Use in Ukraine, Ukraine Mine Ban Policy
Timeline
The supported public timeline begins with the February 24, 2022 escalation of the war, after which HRW and the Monitor both frame the documented Russian MON-series use. HRW published its detailed landmine briefing on June 13, 2023, and the Monitor's later Ukraine profile continued to list the same MON-series models in Russian use.
The available sources support Russian fielding and use of MON-series mines in the conflict, but they do not identify a single named MON-series emplacement site, casualty incident, or military unit. This record therefore treats the family as part of documented Russian mine warfare rather than assigning it to a narrower incident.
Sources: HRW Landmine Use in Ukraine, Ukraine Mine Ban Policy
Narrative
In the Ukraine mine record, the MON series appears as a hand-emplaced directional antipersonnel fragmentation mine family rather than a remotely scattered mine. HRW and the Monitor both list MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200, and both describe MON-series mines as capable of command-detonated or victim-activated use depending on setup.
That evidence places the family in Russian area-denial and force-protection mine warfare during the full-scale phase of the war. HRW reported widespread landmine and explosive-remnant contamination across Ukraine, and the Monitor notes that active hostilities and limited access make systematic attribution of ongoing antipersonnel mine use difficult. The direct MON-series claims in this record are limited to Russian use after February 2022.
Sources: HRW Landmine Use in Ukraine, Ukraine Mine Ban Policy
