Problems
Demining in Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked widespread humanitarian crises, with reports of thousands of civilian causalities, landmines, and other explosive ordnance use, and the fastest-growing refugee situation since World War II. Anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, as well as other unexploded or abandoned ammunition left behind in Ukraine, threaten the lives of millions of people. They will take years to remove, hindering reconstruction efforts and making it unsafe for people to return to their previous daily lives. Ukraine is one of the most mined countries in the world because almost one-third of the area - about 200 thousand square kilometers - requires mine clearance. Explosive objects not only take lives but also have a devastating effect on the environment from the moment the mine hits the ground and even after detonation, says the head of the Ministry of Environment Ruslan Strelets on Facebook. How mining harms the environment: ● Destroys the forest Forests are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to mines. After all, detonation ignites dry grass and wood, which can cause a forest fire. If the fire does not ignite, the debris enters the trees. Because of the corrosion, the plant is poisoned. ● Threats to food security Crops cannot be grown on mined land. Farmers are forced to reduce the area of cultivated land, which puts pressure on resources and depletes the soil. ● Corrodes the soil. Munitions fragments release heavy metals into the environment, including chromium, zinc, iron, copper, and mercury. These substances reach groundwater and enter the human and animal food chain. ● Destroys biodiversity. Mines are often stumbled upon by animals. Confused and frightened, they leave the area and migrate en masse. Often the new territories need the right conditions for the existence of the species, thus reducing biodiversity. ● Interferes with protected areas "When an area is mined, specialists cannot access reserves. The processes of territory conservation become more complicated. A reserve strewn with mines exists "on paper". Over time, the conservation structure ceases to exist," said Strelets. In addition, the war threatens not only the environment of Ukraine, and has already caused several problems for the environment in Europe and threatens even more in the future - the occupiers have mined the dam of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant and resorted to nuclear blackmail at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. In total, demining will take about 10 years. However, help from European colleagues could speed up the process considerably.
The threat from unexploded ordnance.
A serious factor in the pollution of the territory of Ukraine is unexploded ordnance. Military experts noted that about 20% (according to some estimates - up to 40%) of Russian submunitions (bomblets) do not detonate and can remain on the ground for a long time, posing a great danger to civilians upon contact. Bellingcat has documented Russian use of cluster munitions near schools, hospitals, and in residential areas in Kharkiv, Kherson, and Odesa. Human Rights Watch has documented the use of at least 7 types of antipersonnel mines by the Russian military in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Sumy regions. All of them were produced in Russia or the USSR. Both Russia and Ukraine used anti-tank mines of manual, mechanical and remote installation in 6 regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions[. In particular, the Ukrainian military mined airports, bridges and other infrastructure facilities to prevent their use by Russian troops. The indiscriminate use by Russia within and near populated areas of anti-personnel mines (including those without a self-destruct mechanism), booby traps and cluster munitions with leaf mines violates the UN Conventions on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Geneva Conventions and the norms of international humanitarian law, and may qualify as crimes against humanity. About 45% of the fields in the areas where the fighting took place were mined by Russian troops. As a result, the work of farmers has become deadly. International agreements allow the placement of mines in the country's territorial waters for coastal defense. Ukraine confirmed the mining of approaches to the coastline, but Russia did not recognize the use of mines. According to the Ukrainian authorities, Russia has deployed between 400 and 600 mines in the Black Sea. In March, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that for mining the Black Sea, Russian sailors used varieties of mines that had never been in service with Ukraine. Mines and unexploded ordnance pose a great danger to the civilian population, and impede the return of Ukrainians to normal life, the restoration of cities and infrastructure, and agriculture. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, demining the country's land area may take more than 10 years, and clearing the Black Sea from sea mines - up to 7 years.
Protecting families from unexploded ordnance
The HALO Trust trains and employs residents of war-torn communities around the world to clear landmines and dangerous explosives, making the land safe and accessible for agriculture, grazing, transit, trade and play. As the world's largest demining charity, HALO also educates families and children about the dangers of unexploded ordnance and offers critical assistance to the community. HALO during the war works on the territory of Ukraine. The organization delivers medical supplies and assistance, provides shelter to families fleeing violence, and distributes risk-aware messages in person and on social media on how to recognize and avoid the deadly weapons and unexploded rockets now strewn across the streets. HALO is also mapping the location of explosives in Ukraine and preparing to defuse missiles and bombs when the situation permits.
Solutions
Initiatives and programs for demining the territory of Ukraine.
Author: Halo Trust
The initiative to demine the territory of Ukraine has received broad international support. Ukrainian specialists are being trained in the Swiss Armed Forces as part of a joint program with the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) under the auspices of the NATO Partnership for Peace program. The Mines Awareness Trust organizes training in Kosovo led by experts who have demined the region since the war in Yugoslavia and have worked in Iraq, Mozambique and Libya. The US State Department approved $89 million in assistance to Ukraine to train and equip 100 demining teams, while the HALO Trust received $4 million to directly participate in the operation. In Ukraine, entire regions are mined with Russian mines. Germany wants to help clean them up, but the task is not easy. The Ukrainian army was able to repel the advance of Russian tanks on the capital Kyiv, but the mines remained and lay from the time of fierce fighting. “The threat is ubiquitous and deadly,” Cunningham said. She leads the Ukrainian program Halo Trust, the world's largest demining charity. “Here in Brovary, we have already been able to clear some areas so that people can return to some semblance of normal life. But the scale of the problem is huge.” The bulk of the funding, 6 million euros, will go to Halo Trust. Handicap International and the United Nations Development Program also receive mine clearance assistance. The German government announced the delivery to Ukraine of only four remotely controlled demining devices. It could be a tEODor remote-controlled robot that looks like a mini-tank no bigger than a shopping cart. It can hold objects weighing up to 100 kg (220 lb) with its handle. Using a high-pressure water jet, bolter or shotgun, he can destroy explosive devices. Even before the Russian invasion began in February, Ukraine was heavily loaded with mines and ammunition. mines will need to be cleared in Ukraine in the coming years.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/russian-mines-in-ukraine-the-threat-is-pervasive/a-63214795
Gallery
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Timelines
2023
November 02
"The scale of the contamination of Ukraine with mines and unexploded ordnance is the largest since the Second World War," Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko tells TIME. It would take Ukraine 757 years to undo the damage using conventional methods and their current resources, according to an estimate published by GLOBSEC, a think tank based in Slovakia, which called the outlook "little short of terrifying in terms of the scope of work that lies ahead." As of Nov. 1, at least 264 civilians had been killed by mines, and more than 830 have been maimed or injured since Russia's invasion, according to figures shared with TIME by Ukraine's Economy Ministry, numbers that do not account for territories still under Russian occupation or experiencing heavy fighting. Officials say the number of landmine victims could reach 9,000 by 2030 if the problem isn't effectively addressed. In addition, "Without demining, we will not be able to fully launch our economy,” says Svyrydenko. She has outlined a vision to bring 80% of contaminated land back into economic use within 10 years. To do so, Ukraine intends to leverage all the tech tools at its disposal—from sophisticated AI-driven impact assessments to homemade mine-detecting drones—to accelerate what has traditionally been a slow, labor-intensive clearing process. The government has partnered with U.S. data analytics giant Palantir to combine dozens of previously siloed data streams and develop models that will determine which mine clearances will have the biggest impact. They've also harnessed the tech talent of college-age Ukrainian programmers, who developed mine-reporting apps and participated in hackathons, as well as innovative farmers who repurposed their tractors into demining machines. The project to demine Ukraine will be a massive one that will unfold over the years. The World Bank estimates the cost could exceed $37 billion. But demining officials and international experts say that the demining processes being pioneered in Ukraine are likely to forever change the speed, efficiency and safety of clearing war zones in the aftermath of global conflicts.
October 21
Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev made the corresponding statement at the opening of the international conference "Conquering Peace in Ukraine", which was organized by the Sofia Security Forum in partnership with the US Embassy in Bulgaria, reports Analytical Center for Balkan Studies ex-Yu on Facebook. "Regarding the situation in the Black Sea, the beginning of a mine countermeasures operation with Romania and Turkey is being prepared, which will contribute both to increasing security in Bulgarian territorial waters and the export of grain from Ukraine," said Tagarev. According to the head of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry, among the main factors determining the complex security environment are Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine, the situation in the Western Balkans and the terrorist threat, which became especially relevant after the terrorist acts of Hamas against Israel and the increase in tension in the Middle East. Tagarev noted that Bulgaria provides comprehensive diplomatic, political, military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and will continue to do so as long as it is necessary. Moreover, Bulgaria considers assistance to Ukraine in the long term as well — in particular, how to help Ukraine build the necessary institutions and capabilities in the Armed Forces to become a member of NATO and the EU as soon as possible, thus achieving full guarantees of its security.
October 10
Bloomberg, citing anonymous officials, reported that Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria plan to create a special forces unit in November to demine their territorial waters of the Black Sea from the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine.
July 11
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Government of Japan, announced the delivery of vital equipment and vehicles to aid Ukraine in demining its territories. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 367,000 explosive objects have been defused, according to the SESU. Nonetheless, the severity of the country's contamination is of such a magnitude that eliminating the remnants of the war will require decades. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam has aggravated the already critical situation of mine contamination in the country. The flood waters from the dam breach carried numerous landmines downstream, which now pose a significant threat to entire communities. This situation requires emergency response teams to remain vigilant and operate efficiently. Jaco Cilliers, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, said that the challenges posed by the extensive contamination of explosive hazards require continuous support and immediate response from the international community.
March
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, due to Russian military aggression, Ukraine is the most mined country in the world. About 170-180 km of its territory is mined with mines and unexploded ordnance. It may take up to 70 years to completely clear the Ukrainian land. In particular, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Ukrainian sappers have defused 332,030 explosive items, including 2,191 aerial bombs, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported.
Since 2016, the world's largest demining charity, HALO has been dealing with the disposal of explosives in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and working on the territory of Ukraine.
2022
October 25
Ukraine received a unique British Amtrak 400 demining machine. It is now working in the Kharkiv region.
September 10
Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock visited a minefield near Kyiv, which is cleared by the Halo Trust. “It is important that life here on earth can continue,” Burbock said at the time.
August
The contamination of Ukrainian territory by mines and unexploded ordnance during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine affected an area of 300,000 km² - almost half of the country.
June 18
According to the Minister of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrsky, Ukraine currently needs to clear approximately 270 thousand square kilometers. In simple words, the road between settlements must be demined, completely demined settlements, adjacent areas, as well as areas around settlements. But complete demining, including roads, forest belts, and water bodies - will take years. According to the UN, about 14.5 million people lived on the territory of Ukraine contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance.
May 25
"This week, the United States provided $4 million in new support to the Halo Trust in Ukraine, which will employ 10 teams to clear Russian landmines and unexploded bombs so that families can safely return home to their communities," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
April 29
Ukraine has appealed to the countries and world organizations to help them with people and equipment to clear the territories where the fighting took place, said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrsky. "Now the State Emergency Service, pyrotechnics are actually on a tear, there are not enough of them. This is critical. We have turned to the world, we agree that the organizations working on the line of humanitarian post-war mine clearance, to bring their specialists to us "
April 13
The State Service for Emergency Situations website has an interactive map with the locations of explosive objects and dangerous areas. Now on the State Emergency Service website, it is possible to track the dynamics of demining works in the regions daily: the number of trips, the area of cleared territories, and the number of cleared explosive objects.
April 11
The head of the organization of pyrotechnic works and humanitarian demining of the State Emergencies Service Oleg Bondar at a briefing on April 11 said that about 300 thousand square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in need of humanitarian demining because of the large amount of ammunition left by the occupants. "To date, we have conducted an approximate analysis of the territories on which it is necessary to carry out a set of measures for humanitarian demining ... According to our preliminary estimates, this is about 300 thousand square kilometers - almost half of our country's territory. Every day, on average, from 2 to 6 thousand explosive objects are removed and neutralized".
February 24
Russian President V. Putin announced a "special military operation" with the purported purpose of "demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine." In just a few minutes, missile strikes began all over the territory of Ukraine, including not far from Kyiv.
2014
Since Russia launched a war against Ukraine, mines have killed and maimed people. In total, an area 4.5 times larger than the area of Switzerland has been mined in Ukraine.
1998
Ukraine is a party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which prohibits the use of any antipersonnel mines, regardless of their technical features. Russia has not joined the convention but is obliged to renounce the use of anti-personnel mines and booby-traps by Protocol II of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and the norms of international humanitarian law. During the Russian-Ukrainian war, for the first time, a situation arose when a country that had not signed the Convention on the Ban of Anti-Personnel Mines used them against a country that had acceded to the Convention.
1899
The Hague Conventions on the Laws and Customs of War prohibit the placement of mines in neutral waters.