The Ukrainian president on Wednesday called on the international community to help his country get rid of mines and other unexploded ordnance that, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, affect an area equivalent to Uruguay.
“To date, 174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are infested with mines or other unexploded ordnance,” Zelensky stressed, in a video address to the New Zealand Parliament.
“There is no real peace for any child who may die from a hidden Russian anti-personnel mine,” insisted the official, calling on New Zealand, whose military has experience in this area, to lead efforts to clear the mines and mitigate the consequences of conflict environments.
Zelensky also warned that the Black Sea and the Azov Sea are “infested with floating mines” that claimed the lives of “hundreds of thousands of living beings, who died as a result of hostilities.”
The Ukrainian head of state also accused Russia of perpetrating “ecocide” in his country.
In response, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden noted that she took note of Zelesnky’s calls “particularly about the long-term impacts of the war, especially on the environment.”
“We are with you in your search for peace, but we will also be with you when it comes to rebuilding [o país]”, he is stressed.
New Zealand has sent around 100 of its troops to Europe to train Ukrainian soldiers and today announced an additional $2 million (about €1.8 million) in humanitarian aid to help Ukraine weather the winter.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 14 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data. of the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Right now, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing Russia from the political point of view and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,755 dead civilians and 10,607 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
