According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, almost a third of Ukraine’s territory is “potentially contaminated with mines and explosives.” This is not only a problem for the counter-offensive, but also for the economy. Many cultivated areas are affected. Now Ukrainian small farmers must clear their own mine fields.
They should receive support from the Nibulon company, one of the largest grain exporters, which is currently investing in mine detection, machinery and equipment. He receives financial support from the German government. The ministry has now announced this. In total, thousands of hectares of fields in Ukraine would have to be demined. According to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, there are as many as five mines per square meter in some parts of the front.
Unexploded bombs even before the war started
According to the organization Handicap International, Ukraine was one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world before the start of the war last year. Unexploded bombs prevented or delayed the reconstruction of infrastructure. “The consequences are enormous, especially for farmers, because a mine field remains uncontrollable or life-threatening – regardless of whether there are one or a thousand mines,” says Inez Kipfer-Didavi, director of Handicap International Germany.
The UN development program UNDP called for a kind of Marshall Plan for demining in the summer. Russian soldiers are even said to have left explosives in pianos, refrigerators and on corpses. The tactics are meant to be sneaky (see video above). Every house, every field and every forest must therefore be checked, the Ukrainian side said.
A minesweeper is 37-year-old Olexander, who works for Nibulon in southern Ukraine. There are still thousands of explosives in the ground in the previously occupied territory – hidden by Russian forces to stop Ukrainian tanks and soldiers. Olexander removes the explosive objects from the fields in heavy protective equipment, so that farmers can grow grain again.
Work with mortal danger
He could pay for the job with his life, but according to Olexander he is not afraid. Some days he makes ten discoveries. In such a case, he sticks a colored wooden stick in the ground and passes on the GPS coordinates to his colleagues. The find will be examined later.
Olexander is a trained engineer and until recently was a volunteer in the war. He was seriously injured in the head in an explosion and had to leave the army. “It’s not those who hide mines that kill people. Those who build mines kill people,” he said.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
