Landmines "run off" in rivers, heavy metals leak from bombs. A third of Ukraine's territory is riddled with deadly explosives
- Welcome to JedenNewsDziennie.pl. Today we're tackling the issue of landmines and explosives in Ukraine. Here are the main points of the story:
- Ukraine – "the most heavily mined country in the world". The Ukrainian government estimates that approximately 30 % of the country’s land area may be to some degree mined or contaminated with unexploded munitions
- Mines can remain a danger for many years. "There are so-called ‘butterfly’ mines, which children might mistake for toys. There are mines which, after detecting movement, are launched into the air and then explode, causing even worse injuries”
- Ukrainian forests and fields are ridden with mines, explosives poison the water
- Drones and people clear mines. In Ukraine, no one is waiting until the end of the war in order to begin clearing mines in regions where fighting is no longer taking place
- What next – how to demine Ukraine. The priority for the government is to guarantee safety to people, which is why the first efforts of sappers is focussed on houses, buildings and farms, where the retreating Russian forces left mines and booby-traps
Ukraine – "the most heavily mined country in the world". The Ukrainian government estimates that approximately 30 % of the country’s land area may be to some degree mined or contaminated with unexploded munitions
This means that the area requiring sweeping by sappers and demining
is twice the size of Hungary. According to the HALO Trust, which conducts mine
clearance in various parts of the world, it is the largest concentration of this
danger in Europe since the Second World War. And the government in Kyiv say
that they are “the most heavily mined country in the world.”
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022 over 300
civilians have been killed by mines and over 650 people have suffered injuries,
according to United Nations figures.
Mines play a role on the frontline, but apart from that they represent a danger to
people, animals and nature itself. They can injure or kill unexpectedly, shift
location along with the seasons and thaws, and even if they do not explode can
contaminate water and soil.
The scale of the challenge which is the clearance of mines and unexploded
devices is immense. In order to carry out the ambitions of the Ukrainian
government to clear most of the affected areas over the course of a decade, as
many as ten thousand sappers would have to work full time. HALO has appealed
for a Marshall Plan For Mines in Ukraine to be set up this year. According to an
analysis by the World Bank from the beginning of 2023 removing mines and other
explosives in Ukraine would cost at least 38 billion US dollars.
Mines can remain a danger for many years
Dr Hasan Kadhim works for Polish Humanitarian Action in South Ukraine. He is of
Iraqi descent and as he says, the problem of mines is familiar to him from his own
country. He lists several types of landmines that are dangerous in various cases:
anti-personnel mines are detonated with minimal pressure and are one of the
greatest dangers to people; other mines, used against vehicles, only explode
under the weight of e.g. a car; some mines are set manually, just dropped from
the air; and then finally unexploded rockets or missiles can be as dangerous as
mines.
“There are so-called ‘butterfly’ mines, which children might mistake for toys.
There are mines which, after detecting movement, are launched into the air and
then explode, causing even worse injuries,” he explains. Qualified personnel and
special equipment are necessary to clear mines, but it can still be hazardous. In
September, three HALO staff were injured during mine clearance in Kherson
Oblast.
With every year, mine removal becomes increasingly difficult. For when a mine is
planted it doesn’t necessarily remain in the same place. “When rain causes a
flood, mines can move. We saw that on the Iraqi-Iran border, and it could happen
Mines can remain a danger for many years. "There are so-called ‘butterfly’ mines, which children might mistake for toys. There are mines which, after detecting movement, are launched into the air and then explode, causing even worse injuries”
Dr Hasan Kadhim works for Polish Humanitarian Action in South Ukraine. He is of
Iraqi descent and as he says, the problem of mines is familiar to him from his own
country. He lists several types of landmines that are dangerous in various cases:
anti-personnel mines are detonated with minimal pressure and are one of the
greatest dangers to people; other mines, used against vehicles, only explode
under the weight of e.g. a car; some mines are set manually, just dropped from
the air; and then finally unexploded rockets or missiles can be as dangerous as
mines.
“There are so-called ‘butterfly’ mines, which children might mistake for toys.
There are mines which, after detecting movement, are launched into the air and
then explode, causing even worse injuries,” he explains. Qualified personnel and
special equipment are necessary to clear mines, but it can still be hazardous. In
September, three HALO staff were injured during mine clearance in Kherson
Oblast.
With every year, mine removal becomes increasingly difficult. For when a mine is
planted it doesn’t necessarily remain in the same place. “When rain causes a
flood, mines can move. We saw that on the Iraqi-Iran border, and it could happen
“There are so-called ‘butterfly’ mines, which children might mistake for toys.
There are mines which, after detecting movement, are launched into the air and
then explode, causing even worse injuries,” he explains. Qualified personnel and
special equipment are necessary to clear mines, but it can still be hazardous. In
September, three HALO staff were injured during mine clearance in Kherson
Oblast.
With every year, mine removal becomes increasingly difficult. For when a mine is
planted it doesn’t necessarily remain in the same place. “When rain causes a
flood, mines can move. We saw that on the Iraqi-Iran border, and it could happen
with mines in Ukraine after heavy rains or thaws. Then finding them becomes
more difficult and they can turn up in locations previously considered safe. For
example, a farmer may think that his pasture is safe and then a cow suddenly
steps on a mine,” says Dr Kadhim.
“I have spoken to mine-clearance organizations working on the ground. In their
opinion Ukraine will need at least 20 years for the mines to be cleared – and that
means starting after the war is over,” he says, and explains: “Just surveying the
affected areas is a massive effort. You have to check metre after metre. And later,
whatever is found has to be safely removed. We are often talking about difficult
terrain, forests for example. Ukraine will need all possible support that can be
offered to do this.
Even in liberated areas, people cannot return to their homes because of
mines
Since 2018 Olena Halkanova has worked for Polish Humanitarian Action in
Ukraine, offering psycho-social support in the Mykolaiv Oblast. She tells of
workers at a dairy in that part of Ukraine who were travelling to cattle farmers
through the countryside. Their car drove onto a mine and was totally destroyed.
“Fortunately, they weren’t seriously injured,” says Halkanova. She stressed that it
is an example of how mines aren’t only a direct threat to people and nature, but
also dangerous for food production and the economy.
Dr Kadhim observes that in the south of Ukraine agriculture is one of the main
sources of livelihood. “During the Russian occupation, fields and orchards have
been mined. Mines were planted in schools, nurseries, hospitals. I saw them with
my own eyes,” he reports. “For that reason, multiple people cannot return to their
homes or farms. Some of them have been destroyed, some haven’t been given
the all-clear by sappers. It happens that some people don’t wait for permission
from local government and return to houses which haven’t been demined – in
spite of the danger.”
Halkanova emphasises that psychological help is very important both for people
who have been displaced and those who are returning to their regions. “People
don’t feeling safe, also because of the danger of explosions. We organize group
sessions, and give advice on how to behave and who to talk to,” she says.
Even in liberated areas, people cannot return to their homes because of mines
Since 2018 Olena Halkanova has worked for Polish Humanitarian Action in
Ukraine, offering psycho-social support in the Mykolaiv Oblast. She tells of
workers at a dairy in that part of Ukraine who were travelling to cattle farmers
through the countryside. Their car drove onto a mine and was totally destroyed.
“Fortunately, they weren’t seriously injured,” says Halkanova. She stressed that it
is an example of how mines aren’t only a direct threat to people and nature, but
also dangerous for food production and the economy.
Dr Kadhim observes that in the south of Ukraine agriculture is one of the main
sources of livelihood. “During the Russian occupation, fields and orchards have
been mined. Mines were planted in schools, nurseries, hospitals. I saw them with
my own eyes,” he reports. “For that reason, multiple people cannot return to their
homes or farms. Some of them have been destroyed, some haven’t been given
the all-clear by sappers. It happens that some people don’t wait for permission
from local government and return to houses which haven’t been demined – in
spite of the danger.”
Halkanova emphasises that psychological help is very important both for people
who have been displaced and those who are returning to their regions. “People
don’t feeling safe, also because of the danger of explosions. We organize group
sessions, and give advice on how to behave and who to talk to,” she says.
Ukrainian forests and fields are ridden with mines, explosives poison the water
Ukraine is one of the leading producers and exporters of grain. Russian military
activity and the blockade of the Black Sea hinder its export, but also the fields
themselves are threatened by war, including mines and unexploded bombs.
Chernozem or black earth is a Ukrainian national resource. And mines or shrapnel
not only put farmers at risk, but may also lead to the pollution of the soil itself. As
the Ukrainian Ministry for the Environment informed, fragments of ammunition
may release heavy metals, such as chromium, zinc, iron, copper, mercury, etc.
“Mines and explosives affect the soil in various ways: mechanically, by shifting
the soil; physically – here we are talking among others about the effect of high
temperatures; and chemically, when heavy metals or other substances in the
weapons enter the soil,” says Maria Diachuk of the Ukrainian organization
Ecoaction. The organization mainly focusses on chemical pollution, because it can
also get into water courses or groundwater. “And because of that it can impact
the plants – including crops – which will grow there in the long term. But physical
or mechanical damage can also affect the soil negatively over a long period, for
example contributing to erosion or limiting the ability to absorb water,” the
expert goes on.
The influence of mines on Ukrainian agriculture has global consequences. Before
the invasion in 2022, Ukraine was one of the leading exporters of certain crops
and the world has felt acutely the Russian blockade of sea transport from there.
The threat of mines has a lower impact, because it only ties up some of the
agricultural land – but it cannot be ignored.
Mines and missiles also end up – both intentionally and by accident – in bodies of
water. They can find their way into rivers as a consequence of flooding. “The
flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam had that effect. Water
washed mines from the bank and transported them to other places. Imagine: the
water might not only flood your house, but also carry mines to it,” says Dr
Kadhim. Mines also reach the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, placing not only
ships in danger, but animals too. Ukrainian biologists talk about the “shocking”
number of dead dolphins in the Black Sea. Animals die as a result of mines, but
also other military action, military sonar and pollution.
Drones and people clear mines. In Ukraine, no one is waiting until the end of the war in order to begin clearing mines in regions where fighting is no longer taking place
It is being carried out by the Ukrainian government, foreign organizations like HALO, and occasionally people do it by themselves, in spite of the danger.
Increasingly, modern technologies are also being used. At the beginning of the
year, we wrote about the Ukrainian foundation Postup which is active in Poland
and designs drones equipped with metal detectors. This allows them not only to
search for mines safely, but also to significantly speed up the process – instead of
sappers walking across the ground, the drone automatically scans a field, for
example. Of course, sappers then still have to confirm that the metal found really
derives from a mine and then dispose of it. But according to the foundation,
drones can considerably shorten the length of the entire operation.
Maria Diachuk of Ecoaction stresses that an absence of suitably conducted
recultivation following wartime activities can lead to fatal consequences in the
quality of the soil and the entire system of food production. “Right now, the
government are concentrating on clearing the mines themselves, and that is
clearly understandable. But the next step ought to be a complex assessment of
the contamination and the destruction of the soil and water and beginning to
purify it where necessary,” she says and adds, “At this moment analysing the soil
is difficult. In Ukraine we have limited possibilities; we send some samples to
Poland but it is very costly.
What next – how to demine Ukraine. The priority for the government is to guarantee safety to people, which is why the first efforts of sappers is focussed on houses, buildings and farms, where the retreating Russian forces left mines and booby-traps
However, this summer the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture informed that it has ambitions to clear 470 thousand hectares of the most valuable arable land – which may now be mined – over the course of four years. Checking most of the at-risk areas is supposed to take a decade.
However, the obstacles to these ambitious plans are huge. Firstly, Russia still
occupies well over ten percent of the country; the frontline stretches for hundreds
of kilometres and heavy fighting is taking place there; in addition, Ukraine must
constantly guard its entire border with Russia and Belarus. It is impossible to
predict when it will be possible to demine those areas.
Secondly, the experience of other countries shows that mines remain a threat
even decades after a conflict. Dr Kadhim says that in Iraq mines left since the
time of the war with Iran which began in 1980 remain a threat. “Presently
demining is at a very preliminary stage. In Ukraine we are still finding unexploded
bombs from the Second World War. This shows how long this problem may remain
with us,” says Olena Halkanova, and adds that much greater resources are
needed to rid the country of mines more swiftly.
Cytat na koniec
“When rain causes a flood, mines can move. We saw that on the Iraqi-Iran border, and it could happen with mines in Ukraine after heavy rains or thaws. Then finding them becomes more difficult and they can turn up in locations previously considered safe"
Wykorzystane materiały
Interviews:
- Dr Hassan Kadhim, Polish Humanitarian Action in Ukraine [link]
- Olena Halkanowa, Polish Humanitarian Action in Ukraine [link]
- Maria Diachuk, EcoAction [link]
Sources:
- HALO Trust factsheet and materials [link]
- “The Guardian” article [link]
- UN data on number of casualties of the war in Ukraine [link]
- World Food Programme information [link]
- Conflict and Environment Observator report [link]
- RFERL report [link]
- Gazeta.pl article [link]
- “New York Times” article [link]
- Report “The Environmental Impact of the Conflict in Ukraine” [link]
Working time on the material: 20 hours.