About 30% of Ukraine’s Territory Is Currently Mined

To date, about 30% of the territory of Ukraine – an area twice the size of Austria – is mined as a result of the aggression waged by the Russian Federation.

“The area and the intensity of the mined territory of Ukraine have increased ten-fold compared to the pre-war period,” Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) Serhii Kruk said.

According to him, more than 8,000 sq km in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions (about 7,000 sq km in the Kherson region and up to 1,500 sq km in the Mykolayiv region) are to be demined.

“In the de-occupied territories of the specified regions, a significant number of explosives technician units of the State Emergency Service work in cooperation with the military-civilian administrations. All set tasks are completed, the main of which is the launch of utility systems and the provision of assistance to citizens. Fire and rescue units function, humanitarian hubs are created on their basis, from where aid arriving in the Kherson region is distributed,” Kruk said.

In the territories liberated from the Russian occupiers, he added, special units are working to inspect roads, interacting with energy companies, and checking facilities that are being put into operation.

“I hope that the electricity supply will be restored and the utility systems will start working in the de-occupied territories in the coming days. It will take several months for the agencies working there to restore a full-fledged life in the territory of the Kherson region,” said the SES head.

As a reminder, the other day, Chief of the National Police of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko announced that Russian troops had mined one of the buildings of the National Police regional office in Kherson. It had to be blown up as there was no possibility of demining.

According to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrskyy, roads and objects, in particular residential buildings, are highly contaminated with mines in the de-occupied areas of the Kherson region. There are already casualties among explosives technicians as the Russian troops left many explosive objects that react to certain vibrations.

Bohdan Marusyak