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Russians claim Ukranian forces are dropping booby-trapped chocolate bars on Russian trenches. (imgur.com)

submitted 2 months ago by LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz to c/ukraine@sopuli.xyz

42 comments fedilink hide all child comments

"Found these in the Zaporizhzhya direction. The enemy is throwing chocolates with an explosive mechanism. Do not open them under any circumstances. Our guy was lucky that it did not detonate, otherwise he could have ended up crippled. I know guys whose fingers were torn off like that."

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[-] HakFoo 44 points 2 months ago

That does seem like something that would violate some rules-of-war convention.

Booby-trapping something that might be mistaken by civilians as a legitimate humanitarian aid drop risks non-combatant casualties and makes it harder for actual aid operations to operate.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 39 points 2 months ago

Ah, this reminds the time when cluster munitions were bright yellow, so you could spot them and stay away.

And food aid packages were bright yellow, so you could spot them and easily collect them.

Yeah...

[-] CanadaPlus 2 points 2 months ago

Oh man, when was that?

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago

During the early occupation of Afghanistan after 2001. Here's a news article from 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2912617.stm

Note that that wasn't on purpose.

[-] CanadaPlus 3 points 2 months ago

Wow. I guess those two teams didn't talk often, which tracks.

Happy cake day!

[-] apotheotic@beehaw.org 16 points 2 months ago

If it is something they're actually doing, I agree. But this image looks like a crafts project gone wrong. Are we supposed to believe that the bit a the bottom is like, high explosive or something and that tiny wire is the primer?

[-] CanadaPlus 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yup. I read the convention on mines recently in the wake of the pagers thing. Even if chocolate isn't humanitarian aid, portable booby trapped non-military items are forbidden if they self-trigger. (The pagers actually seem fine by the copy I read, because being remote-controlled makes them "other devices")

Edit: And also specifically food or drink.

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

SOURCES?

I've asked about 10 times, but no one can seem to provide a single reputable journalistic source. Is that really such a tall order? Follow facts, not feelings...

That's true! If it happened. Does anyone have any source at all for this from any reputable news organization?

[-] ghen@sh.itjust.works 42 points 2 months ago

Far more likely this is being prepared by Russians as they retreat in Kursk and blamed on Ukraine just in case any Russian civilians get hit. We know for a fact that Russia booby traps civilian areas which is a war crime. There have been zero cases of Ukraine doing this. So if a booby trap exists it should be assumed Russian.

[-] nuke@sh.itjust.works 38 points 2 months ago

Willy Wonka sends his regards

[-] NateNate60@lemmy.world 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Explosives don't seem smart. Why didn't they poison the chocolate instead? The enemy opens the chocolate, sees nothing wrong with it, shares it with their mates, and then now you've got five casualties who are none the wiser. Is that against the rules of war or something?

[-] Dasus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Is that against the rules of war or something?

Yes. Very much so. Just poison in general is a war crime, let alone hiding it in chocolate.

https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/fr/customary-ihl/v2/rule72

Article 23(a) of the 1899 Hague Regulations provides: “It is especially prohibited … to employ poison or poisoned arms.”

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

SOURCES?

I've asked about 10 times, but no one can seem to provide a single reputable journalistic source. Is that really such a tall order? Follow facts, not feelings...

We're... supposed to believe Russia!? According to them, they still haven't violently invaded Ukraine, kidnapped children, or committed war crimes!

(To be clear, any war crimes need to be stopped, investigated, and prosecuted.)

EDIT: Wait, there's not even an article to look into sources? Just text and an image!? If this isn't my specific app not cross-linking properly, this post has to violate community rules, right? Or at least it should...

[-] LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz -3 points 2 months ago

We're... supposed to believe Russia

No.

Wait, there’s not even an article to look into sources

I do not post link to pro-Russian sources. You can do a reverse image search, if you so wish.

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl -3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

SOURCES?

I've asked about 10 times, but no one can seem to provide a single reputable journalistic source. Is that really such a tall order? Follow facts, not feelings...

"Pro-Russian" sources? I think you misunderstand. I'm curious why there are no sources. Like, at all. Not just from you, but any that actually exist! I can't find anything. Here's a search that should be broad enough:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Russia%20claim%20ukraine%20chocolate&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-m#sbfbu=1&pi=Russia%20claim%20ukraine%20chocolate

Adding "explosive" to the query doesn't yield any better results. We don't have to link propaganda, but if Russia is claiming this, there would be English-language articles about the claim, yes? Again, if anyone has any source, please post it... But no, "do your own research" isn't sufficient for a claim with literally nothing to back it up.

[-] remotelove@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago

You can start to track this down by reverse image searches if you are that curious. It's a crap story, so the actual source is going to be ambiguous.

This was the first I found, posted on the 4th, and I am not linking to it directly.

[-] tpihkal@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

You're not going to find anything if you're using Google for your searches.

Try changing your location with a VPN. Search using Yandex. Translate your search to Russian first. Etc.

[-] LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 months ago

The sources are all Russian.

[-] MercuryGenisus@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago

Mirror + bandaid + paperclip + packing tape = boom? It's like a bad 80s tv show.

[-] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

TIL Macguyver is a Ukrainian asset.

[-] DScratch@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Why bother with chocolate at all? Just wrap c4 in a Freddo wrapper.

[+] YourPrivatHater@ani.social 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

[deleted]

[-] Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee 12 points 2 months ago

I agree the round disc and deliberately folded wire screams something to do with RF, but a) how powered and for how long? and b) why a chocolate bar if so?

It’s not like they hid a transmitter inside something that wouldn’t be taken apart or eaten, this was going to get discovered. Sneak a transmitter inside a PKM or radio, then let it be “captured” by the Russians.

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

a) how powered and for how long?

Might even be passive, a tuned resonator. Heck it could be a bug, IIRC ironically passive bugs are (age-old) soviet tech. Imagine sweeping the whole frequency spectrum for resonators with 50s tech they were a nightmare to screen for.

and b) why a chocolate bar if so?

Maybe the idea is to track people for some time to gather intelligence on trench operations? Most probably aren't going to eat the thing right away.

[-] frozenpopsicle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago

The wire in the middle is bent and acts as a spring. The metal disk on top slaps the tan paper on bottom when the wrapper is removed. No power, all mechanical.