Russia has been dropping booby-trapped tissue boxes and power banks onto the streets of Ukraine in a 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 could be killed or lose limbs if they pick up the explosive devices.
Charity Hope for Ukraine say there are even reports of Ukrainian military units being sold the dangerous fake power banks.
Russian forces have been dropping anti-personnel mines in Kherson for close to two years, but these are the first reports of explosives being disguised in these apparently harmless items.
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Pictures from the city, which has been on the front line since 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 is 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 the city since October 2024, the Centre for Information Resilience told Metro.
The weapons are known as ‘gingerbread’ mines because of their small, flat appearance, which children risk picking up because they look like plastic toys.
‘After months of dropping these, people knew to stay away, so the Russians are now adopting a 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 simple and cynical: a person may mistake such an object for a lost charging device, pick it up, or try to use it. The consequences could be fatal.’
He continued: ‘I urge parents to talk to their children. Explain to them that you cannot pick up any items found on the street, even if they look safe or useful.’
Putin’s new tactic has sparked outrage from human rights campaigners, who accused the dictator of breaching the rules 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 another calculated act despicably targeting non combatants.
‘Inevitably, curious children will be among those picking up innocent looking tissue boxes.
‘That will lead to fatalities and terrible injuries. One day, this must be added to the charge sheet of war crimes.’
Helen Maguire MP, who is Chair of Parliament’s group on Explosive Weapons and Their Impact, said the camouflaged mines were ‘a truly abhorrent development in an already brutal war.’
She added: ‘International law is clear on this: parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilians and military targets, and weapons that are intended to deceive civilians into handling them are incredibly alarming.’
The Liberal Democrat MP continued: ‘The international community must be swift in its condemnation of these new tactics used by Russia, and continue to support Ukraine not only in its defence, but in the enormous task of clearing explosive contamination for years to come.’
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 spent time on Ukraine’s front line, said the disguised bombs ‘bear all 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 often buy items like power banks.
He continued: ‘There have been reports that sellers have been selling power banks filled with explosives.
‘It looks like some of these sellers buy supplies which 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 new tactic’ employed by Russia to target cars, buses and bikes on the roads in Kherson.
Drones are currently obstructed from targeting vehicles on the road due to anti-drone fishing nets stretched over the streets.
However 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 their target to pass by.
‘They land the drone next to a tree, road and it is so low to the grass it is almost not visible,’ Boyechko said.
‘As the driver drives on the road, they activate the drone and hit the car from under the nets.’
Ross Burley, co-founder of the Centre for Information Resilience that documents war crimes, said: ‘Russia is turning streets, hospitals and everyday objects into potential death traps.
‘This is not simply a military tactic; it is 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 pretty abhorrent regime.’
The Russian Embassy in London has been contacted for comment.
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