Areas in Ukraine that have been liberated from Russian occupation and are still contested are contaminated with ammunition residues and mines. How can the eviction be progressed and financed quickly?
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has now lasted more than two and a half years. The fighting has left hundreds of thousands of mines and other explosive remnants in residential areas and fields that can still explode. An international conference on demining in Lausanne, Switzerland, is now focusing on how humanitarian demining – i.e. the removal of explosive remnants from villages and farmland – becomes a central part of social and economic reconstruction.
What is the danger?
Landmines, cluster munitions, unexploded grenades, rockets or crashed combat drones can explode if accidentally touched or handled. Since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, there have been more than 1,000 casualties in Ukraine from mines and unexploded remnants of war. According to government figures, a good 300 of them died, 30 this year alone.
Is the mining problem bigger than in Syria or elsewhere?
The United Nations considers Ukraine to be the most heavily mined country in the world. An area twice the size of Bavaria is potentially considered a danger area, plus mined sea areas. The UN development program UNDP says that perhaps only ten percent of the area actually contains ammunition, but the entire area must be searched. “These risks negatively affect the lives of over six million Ukrainians,” says the head of Ukraine’s national demining authority, Ruslan Berehulya.
What is different in Ukraine than in other mine-contaminated countries?
On the one hand, Russia has laid mines more densely than any other country, says Gary Toombs from the organization Handicap International, which helps mine victims and people with disabilities worldwide. On the other hand, there are new technologies: such as mines that are activated by changing the magnetic field or vibrations in the ground, which further complicates clearance.
“There are projectiles that throw out coils of tension and trip wires above the ground, which then form a spider web,” he says. Whoever runs in triggers the explosion. Other guy wires hung in the tree with a type of fishing hook that gets caught in clothing as people walk by. The detonator is triggered by the train.
How does this limit people’s lives?
“Farmers cannot cultivate their fields, damaged power plants remain out of operation and civilians remain displaced from their homes,” said Jaco Cilliers, UN Development Program representative in Ukraine. The economy remains partially paralyzed. At the front, the military is responsible for mine clearance, while the mine clearance authority is responsible for large infrastructure. Humanitarian demining is taking place in villages and fields.
How does humanitarian demining work?
In many cases, fields have to be searched meter by meter with metal detectors after machines have been used for the first time, says Markus Schindler. The 36-year-old from Rosenheim works for the FSD, a Swiss mine clearance foundation.
“Our focus is on making villages in rural regions that Ukraine has recaptured habitable again,” says Schindler. The FSD has several hundred local deminers. “We have more applicants than positions, a lot of people want the opportunity to do something for their country,” says Schindler.
Mine clearers worked on two mined football pitches in the Kharkiv region for several months. For the safety of the players, every piece of ammunition had to be removed. Elsewhere, areas ten times larger can be cleared in just a few weeks. The FSD wants to hand the football pitches back to the community soon with a friendly match between the FSD and the village youth, says Schindler.
What else needs to be done?
Handicap International focuses on risk education, “how to live safely in an area until the deminers come,” says Toombs. Training takes place in community halls, bunkers, schools and elsewhere. Main message: “If you see something suspicious, don’t touch it, get help.”
What has already been done?
According to the Ukrainian authorities, more than 2,100 deminers are deployed in the country. According to the Civil Defense, they examined a good 1,500 square kilometers – an area the size of Berlin and Hamburg combined – and rendered over 530,000 explosive objects harmless. The government estimates the cost of largely clearing the entire country at a good 30 billion euros.
The conference
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
