Russian Soldier Allegedly Gives Grandma Booby-Trapped Milk Carton With Concealed Bomb

Russian soldiers gave an elderly woman in the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson a carton of milk that was rigged to blow with explosives, local media claimed.

The booby-trapped carton was exposed after the retired pensioner, whose name was not disclosed, discovered a thread inside the container and showed it to her son, in.kherson.ua reported.

"My mother saw that the twist in the milk was not airtight, she thought that someone had already drank it, that it could be spoiled, she carefully unscrewed it and saw something like a thread," the son was quoted as saying.

The woman's son then allegedly cut open the carton and found an improvised explosive device (IED) inside.

A semi-translucent wire linked the milk carton's cap and what appeared to be a trigger wrapped with gray plastic explosives, supposed photos of the IED showed.

The carton of milk was included in a humanitarian aid package handed out by the Russian military to Kherson's residents following Russia's occupation of the city, according to the report.

Ukrainian citizens allegedly refused the supplies in the first few days of the occupation, but they have since taken "more and more often" as people started to run out of food and money.

"My retired mother brought the aid package home, although I asked not to do so," the woman's son said.

The United Nations' Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices prohibits the use of booby traps to kill civilians.

In addition to the milk, the humanitarian aid package also included cereals and oil, all of which were made in Ukraine, the man claimed.

Supposed photos of the IED indicated that the elderly woman was given Burenka milk, a Ukrainian brand.

"Apparently, they will rob our stores and then distribute food as humanitarian aid," the man said.

International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.

Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to be seized by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

"The city is key to Russia's objective of establishing a land bridge to Crimea and dominating southern Ukraine," the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said.

Russia is planning a staged referendum in Kherson to justify its occupation, according to the ministry.

The same tactic was used to justify the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula back in 2014.