10% of agricultural land in Ukraine is mined
Cabinet of Ministers estimates $37.4 billion in demining costs
According to British intelligence, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 750 cases of civilian mine accidents have been reported, with 12% of the victims being children. With the onset of spring and the beginning of the agricultural season, the risk of such explosions is increasing.
Ukraine began demining operations shortly after the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
The State Emergency Service has created an interactive map of mine contamination (pictured), which as of early April 2023 covers 174,000 square kilometers.
"About 174,000 square kilometers of our land are sown with explosive objects. This is like half the territory of Japan, one and a half of Greece, or two areas of Austria," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in early April this year. According to him, agricultural land is also contaminated.
The head of the Cabinet of Ministers estimated the cost of demining at $37.4 billion.
The most affected areas are Kherson and Kharkiv regions, territories previously occupied by Russia.
"Ukraine is now the largest country in the world in terms of mined territory, and this can affect not only people who may be killed or injured. It could also affect Ukraine's economy and global food supplies. It is estimated that 10% of agricultural land in Ukraine is now mined," the newspaper also quoted entrepreneur and activist Mitzi Perdue, who has returned from a trip to Ukraine.
American experts believe that "Russian troops have deliberately mined people's homes, including children's toys, and even the bodies of people who died as a result of the invasion," which gives them grounds to compare the Russians to ISIS.
According to Michael Tirri, "the horrific use of improvised explosive devices by Russian troops is reminiscent of ISIS tactics in Iraq and Syria, where ISIS terrorists sought to cause as many civilian casualties as possible and make people afraid to return home."
On April 4, Denys Shmyhal announced the creation of a humanitarian demining center in Ukraine. According to him, the center was created to "quickly and thoroughly demine the territories" and coordinate work in this area, including with international partners.
The U.S. government has announced that it will allocate $91.5 million for demining over the next year, the European Union has provided a €500 million package that includes demining equipment, as well as €1.2 million for demining equipment from the EU under the auspices of the OSCE.
Cambodia is also participating in demining as a country that has considerable experience in demining after years of war and armed political confrontation. Moldova also announced that it would send its sappers to Ukraine. In addition, the UN, Canada, Croatia, and others reported allocating funds for the purchase of demining equipment.
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