Clearing mines and explosives could take a decade
(Picture: REUTERS)Almost one third - 27 per cent - of Ukraine’s territory will need to be cleared of mines and explosives, according to the latest estimates by the ecology ministry.
So far Ukrainian authorities have cleared more than 620 square kilometres (240 square miles) of land that were littered with thousands of explosive devices, including 2,000 bombs dropped from the air.
Nearly 300,000 square kilometres (116,000 square miles) are still seen as “contaminated”, according to data released by Ukraine’s Emergency Services.
Making that area safe could take a decade, the government said.
The US State Department approved $89 million worth of assistance to help Ukraine equip and train 100 teams to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance for a year.
The latest demining efforts were focused on the northeastern region of Sumy, where Ukrainian authorities conducted controlled explosions on Thursday to clear landmines.
Sumy is one of the most contaminated regions in the country, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi said.
The removal of mines from Ukraine’s territorial waters was likely to take five to seven years, Monastyrskyi said.
“It is the most difficult type of demining,” he said.
The operations to remove unexploded devices from the land and waters may not be enough to protect the ecosystem and human health, environmentalists said.
“These territories are affected not just by mining itself but also by heavy pollution from explosions and from rockets,” said Sofiia Sadogurska, a climate expert at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives “Ecoaction”. “The consequences of such pollution ... could last for decades.”
