The shelf life of TNT is 60 years, yet the Defense Ministry is procuring 80-year-old mines for the Armed Forces at €590 each.

The Ministry of Defense is purchasing mines that are 80 years old at a price nearing 600 euros each. This was reported in a piece by Defense Express director Sergey Zgurts, published on January 13.

What Happened

On December 31, 2024, the head of the Ministry of Defense's Procurement Agency, Marina Bezkrovna, reached out to the director of the Department of Military-Technical Policy, Armament Development, and Military Equipment at the Ministry of Health. In the letter, she urgently requested the approval of the nomenclature and quantities of goods for a state contract with a Bulgarian company. The procurement involved hundreds of thousands of M6A2 anti-tank mines with detonators.

The year of manufacture for the mines was noted in the document as "1941+", meaning they are over 80 years old. However, the contract also specified that the seller guarantees the usability of the munitions. Initially, the agency must pay 10% of the total amount, while the remaining 90% is to be paid upon invoicing and upon receipt of a copy of the Technical Inspection Act of the goods before shipment. The department approved the request.

Why the Contract Was Approved

A military analyst explained that the Armed Forces of Ukraine need anti-tank mines, and this demand may currently be measured in millions of units, which is only expected to grow over time. At the same time, the vigilance of the Ministry of Defense may have been influenced by the situation from the previous year. Despite a severe shortage of mines, they were not included in the "Procurement List for 2024." According to Zgurts, this may have led the director to "not delve deeply into the details."

What Is Known About These Mines

The M6 is an American design, a pressure-activated mine in a metal casing.

Its technical specifications are as follows:

• total weight — 9 kilograms;
• weight of TNT — 5.4 kilograms;
• variants M6 and M6A1 have chemical detonators M600 and M601;
• the M6A2 variant features a safer mechanical detonator M603.

By the end of 1944, the U.S. produced 2.5 million of these mines, and production continued to increase. However, by the late 1960s, the M6A1 and M6A2 were phased out of the U.S. Army's arsenal due to evidence showing a lack of 5 kilograms of explosives needed to destroy the tracks of enemy tanks.

There are no M6A1 and M6A2 mines left in U.S. warehouses. However, a significant number of these mines were purchased or received by countries in Asia, South America, and Africa. There are several countries where they are still stored.

Are M6 Mines Usable?

An unnamed source for the expert stated that the mines are "just rusty," but he himself questioned this assertion. According to specialists, TNT retains its primary properties for 35 years. In more optimistic assessments, this extends to 60 years.

Regarding the M6A2 mines, open-source information indicates that their expiration date was not specified in the documents. However, if the casing deteriorates due to corrosion, the sensitivity of the mine allegedly decreases from 150-338 to 3-5 kilograms.

An unnamed military engineer explained that it would be "super" to acquire such mines "somewhere for a dollar apiece." Given the shortage of TNT itself, Ukrainian specialists "would find a way." However, the mine also consists of a detonator, the condition of which can only be evaluated through expertise.

Why Is It So Expensive?

The price of this military "antique" from World War II is 590 euros per mine. Zgurts noted that in 2024, the same company supplied Ukraine with more "recent" TM-62 anti-tank mines for 550 euros each. The Bulgarian company is merely an intermediary; it does not produce munitions.

The military analyst discussed the theory behind why the Agency might have agreed to spend such a large sum on old mines. In November of last year, 23 billion hryvnias from its budget were quickly transferred to the State Border Guard Service for the procurement of munitions for the Ministry of Defense. This was due to the statement from the Office that the body was unable to utilize all allocated funds for armaments.

The lesson was learned at the Agency, so by the end of 2024, the leadership reported the use of 100% of the annual budget (306.1 billion hryvnias) on concluded contracts.

"However, if the pursuit of a 100% budget obligation was also among the reasons for the contract with the Bulgarian intermediary, it is likely that the criteria of 'price — quality — time' should also be analyzed in relation to other contracts made at the end of 2024 in a similarly urgent manner as for vintage American M6A2 anti-tank mines from World War II. Thus, this story certainly has a continuation," the expert emphasized.

Recall that on the night of January 14, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a massive strike on targets in Russia. Fires broke out in several regions, with one of the targets being the Bryansk chemical plant.

As of January 10, the Kurakhove direction disappeared from the reports of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. OSCE representative "Khortytsia" Viktor Trehubov reported that the command had redistributed the system of directions and explained how to navigate the data from reports.