Ukraine's 'meowing traps' spark ethical concerns in warfare
The war in Ukraine is marked by astonishing inventions, including the so-called "meowing traps," which play on human curiosity and empathy. Here's what they entail.
Russian soldiers, in interviews on Russian television, frequently express their frustration with Ukrainian "meowing traps." It is important to consider that much of this material is propagandistic. As described by Russian sources, these are grenades or mines placed in locations like nightstands on newly captured territories, connected to a speaker that plays recorded cat meows.
Cats are often rescued and adopted by soldiers on both sides of the conflict, serving as unit mascots, among other roles, and helping to relieve stress. Additionally, cats are highly valued on the front lines for reducing the number of rodents in the trenches.
Due to this, many soldiers, if they hear a cat nearby, attempt to find and help it, which is something some Ukrainians seem to be exploiting. The act of rigging items with explosives is not surprising in this war, as Russians have done the same when retreating from places like Bucha, where even children's toys were rigged with explosives.
Booby-trap mines — controversial weapons highly restricted by international law
Booby-trap mines are heavily regulated under Protocol II, added in 1996 to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, which came into force in 1983. Notably, both Russia and Ukraine have signed and ratified this convention.
However, the law and the brutal realities on the ground often differ, and many violations of the convention or international humanitarian law can be observed in Ukraine. It's notable that the Russians lead in these violations.
Booby-trap mines are improvised explosive devices made from grenades, anti-personnel mines, or homemade devices crafted from unexploded ordnance or explosive material and miscellaneous metal scrap. The detonator is usually a simple pressure trigger or a stretched wire, whose tension causes an explosion. In the case of Ukrainians, a phone with a looped recording of cat meows is sometimes added.
Protocol II prohibits booby-trap mines that lack a built-in self-destruct function after a specified time and those disguised as items like children's toys, food, corpses, clothes, or kitchen equipment, with the exception of military objects. Meeting just one of these conditions is enough to deem it illegal.
