Videos circulating on social media show Ukrainian soldiers cutting open a massive US-made Mark 25 naval mine measuring around two meters in length. The troops use an angle grinder to slice through its thick metal casing before breaking into the interior with a jackhammer to extract the explosives.
The footage has sparked a wave of jokes online, with social media users comparing the soldiers' actions to a well-known anecdote about cutting up mines. Many have pointed out that Ukrainian troops appear to be bringing the old joke to life.
According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Ukrainian forces are resorting to this method to obtain explosives, which have become increasingly scarce in Ukraine following Russian strikes.
The appearance of these weapons has also raised questions about their origins. No previous public reports had mentioned deliveries of Mark 25 mines to Ukraine. The weapons date back to World War II, with production beginning in the United States in 1943.
Depending on the variant, each mine weighs between 840 and 900 kilograms and contains up to 578 kilograms of explosives. The explosive filling could consist of TNT, Torpex or HBX. Different versions were designed to respond to acoustic, magnetic or hydrodynamic signals.
Mark 25 mines could be dropped by B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers using parachutes or deployed underwater from ships.
The United States withdrew these weapons from service in the early 1970s and placed its remaining stockpiles in storage. Now, the circulating videos suggest that the long-retired American mines have been secretly transferred to Kiev.