In addition to the succession of offensives, withdrawals and counter-offensives, there is an aspect of the fighting that persists after troop movements on the Ukrainian front. An aspect that is even called upon to darken the daily life of local populations once peace is concluded: the deposit and concealment of mines in the landscape by the Russian invader.
Thus, according to a spokeswoman for the British NGO Mines Advisory Group, questioned on Sunday by the Sky News channel, more than 40% of the surface of Ukraine is now trapped by mines. It’s simple: these figures make Ukraine the most mined country in the world.
“The contamination (of the territory by mines, editor’s note) is massive. We cannot even compare the situation with that of Syria or Afghanistan. It’s really massive,” argued Kateryna Templeton, this Mines Advisory Group official requested by Sky News.
An old plague that lasts 9 years
The estimate confirms a statement made in early January by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. The head of government calculated the part of the mined territory at 250,000 km² (out of approximately 600,000), even going as far as to launch: “It is currently the largest minefield in the world”.
While the Russian invasion of course increased the scourge exponentially, it goes back nine years. By the time of the 2014-2015 civil war, Russian-backed separatist troops were already making extensive use of these antipersonnel mines, banned by the Ottawa Convention, which the Kremlin never signed.
It must be said that Russian hangars are full of them: according to a report by the Mines Observatory published last November, Russia has 26.5 million mines.
611 mine-related accidents since the invasion
A quantity that explains the diversity of death machines deployed on Ukrainian soil. Kateryna Templeton gave the typology to Sky News: “You can find anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, caltrops, shells, cluster munitions. Anything you can think of you will find in Ukraine.”
Of course, this orgy of mines is the source of a cascading drama. According to the Mine Advisory Group, there were 1,190 mine-related accidents in Ukraine between 2014 and 2020. And there has been a leak since the Russian aggression, with 611 of these incidents reported between February 24, 2022 and January 10, 2023 .
In addition to the human cost, this mining carries many additional dire consequences, such as the closure of access to certain areas, or the alteration of agricultural production.
Sensitize
Even in the event of an imminent restoration of peace, for the moment unthinkable, the threat should linger for several more decades under the feet of Ukraine. Thus, Perrine Benoist, Head of Handicap International’s Armed Violence Reduction Department, quoted here by The worldalready last April measured the duration of planned mine clearance at “at least 50 years.”
Fully aware that it will therefore be necessary to live with danger, the Ukrainian authorities have launched an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the risk of landmines directed at their fellow citizens.
This revolves around a location showing a walker spotting a mine, carefully moving away and alerting the appropriate service. Video made to illustrate a principle: “The rule of three ‘negations'”. “Don’t get close! Don’t touch! Don’t panic!” the post read.
Source: BFM TV
