Themes by tag: demining

Anton Tenyk has been engaged in farming for the past 5 years. He runs a farm in Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. Since the Armed Forces of Ukraine de-occupied the right bank of the Kherson region, farmers have decided to get back to work. However, it has proved to be an uphill struggle, as most of the fields were contaminated with mines. Ukrainian military and sappers were clearing these areas of land mines, and Anton and other farmers did not stand aside: they used handheld mine detectors to detect shell casings and mortar shells. When pinpointing an unknown object, they seek professional help.

The farmers turned to their colleagues and charitable foundations for help to get fertilizers, seeds, and diesel fuel. Anton says that overcoming the odds, they managed to sow 800 hectares of sunflower, 400 hectares of barley, and 150 hectares of peas. Now the man is trying to employ all those who return home to the liberated regions of Kherson.

• Kherson
• demining

One of the areas of work of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in Ukraine is non-technical survey of the territory and clearance of explosives. The DRC work involves training sappers of the State Emergency Service and volunteer civilians to search for explosive ordnance. Since the contaminated areas are quite large, DRC is raising the number of demining specialists who, after completing their training, will get a job in the organization. Deminers work in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions together with the State Emergency Service, because it is sappers who have to remove explosive objects. In addition, the organization provides grant support to those affected by mines or other explosive remnants of war.

For reference: Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s territory has become one of the most contaminated with explosives in the world. According to the UN, it will take dozens of years to demine the country.

• Chernihiv
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Mykolaiv
• demining

Vitalii Kucherenko is a Ukrainian military man with almost 30 years of experience. He has been defending Ukraine since 2014 (he took part in the battles for Ilovaisk, Maryinka, and Avdiivka in particular). He was discharged from military service in 2017. During his service, he faced the major issue of the occupiers’ mining of Ukrainian land and in 2020, founded a private humanitarian company in mine action and later a training center for those wishing to learn the explosive ordnance survey and clearance experts profession. The center operates in the Khmelnytskyi region. There are already 174 people who have taken the course, including about 30 veterans of the Russia-Ukraine war, who are now qualified as demining experts. Currently, Vitalii’s company employs three veterans, and they are preparing to take part in land release operations.

For reference: According to preliminary forecasts, every 10th worker in Ukraine will be a veteran after the war is over. According to a recent study on ex-military employment, over 60% of employers had no experience working with veterans and, accordingly, had no experience recruiting veterans. 

• russian crimes
• Khmelnytskyi
• demining

Mykola Polezhayev is a pyrotechnic engineer from the Mykolaiv region who has been working in this field for over 7 years. In April this year, a newly developed cluster munition detonated near Mykola in the garage cooperative where he came to work. An EOD 9 special protective suit saved him from death. However, his injuries could not be avoided: his left hand had burns, fractures, and shrapnel wounds, and his right finger was broken.

Now the pyrotechnician has undergone rehabilitation and is back working side by side with his colleagues to defuse ammunition.

For reference: Currently, 30% of Ukraine’s territory is contaminated with mines. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, 221 people have been killed by landmines or unexploded ordnance, and 450 others have been injured.

• casualties
• Mykolaiv
• demining

The international organization “The Halo Trust” had been helping to demine the territory of Ukraine even before the start of the full-scale invasion. Currently, 800 Ukrainians are involved in mine clearing efforts in 5 regions: Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv and Chernihiv. “The Halo Trust” also works at the sites of flooding caused by the breach of the Kakhovka Dam. In the last eight weeks alone, sappers discovered more than 5,000 mines in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions.

The international organization “The Halo Trust” surveys recently liberated Ukrainian lands, using the methodology tested in more than 30 countries of the world.

For reference: According to the State Emergency Service, 30% of the territory of Ukraine is mined. According to some assessments, it may take more than 10 years to clear the land.

• russian crimes
• Chernihiv
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Mykolaiv
• Sumy
• demining

Roman is an engineer and a graduate of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Kyiv, who lives in Irpin (at the end of March 2022, the city was liberated from the russian military). The man produced about 400 metal detectors. These devices are used by Ukrainian sappers and the military. So, for example, bomb squads of the State Emergency Service have already worked with them in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Engineer’s group mates from university and Ukrainian activists helped with parts, as well as donations for metal detectors

For reference: earlier, the State Emergency Service reported that 30% of the territory of Ukraine was mined.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• demining