The Washington Post has published a report stating that Ukraine has become the most land-mined country in the world.
According to the report, during a year and a half of conflict, landmines, along with unexploded bombs, artillery shells, and other deadly war remnants, have contaminated a vast area of Ukraine, estimated to be approximately 176 square kilometres.
The transformation of Ukraine’s heartland into a hazardous wasteland is a long-term catastrophe seldom witnessed by ammunition experts. It may take hundreds of years and billions of dollars to clear the country of these lethal hazards completely.
Unexploded Ordnance
The report highlighted that unexploded ordnance tells harrowing stories. Greg Crowther, the director of programs at the Mines Advisory Group, a British charity working on mine and unexploded ordnance clearance, stated that Ukraine’s vast amount of ammunition has been unprecedented in the past 30 years.
Despite ongoing fighting making meticulous survey operations impossible, it is confirmed that the sheer volume and concentration of ordnance make Ukraine’s contamination greater than heavily mined countries like Afghanistan and Syria.
Cluster Bombs
The report pointed out that the deployment of US-made cluster bombs by Ukrainian forces this week, known to scatter unexploded submunitions, could exacerbate the danger.
Explosive remnants have already caused significant civilian casualties since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 until July 2023, with the United Nations reporting 298 civilian fatalities, including 22 children and 632 injured men and women.
Both Sides Responsible
The report highlighted that both Russian and Ukrainian forces use landmines. Russia heavily mined its frontlines in anticipation of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and widespread use of banned anti-personnel mines has been reported.
Investigations by “Human Rights Watch” revealed that Russian forces used at least 13 types of anti-personnel mines in addition to victim-activated munitions. Ukraine also used at least one type of anti-personnel mine, the PFM-1, around the city of Izium in the summer of 2022.
Mines are not the only type of explosive threat, as mortar shells, bombs, artillery shells, cluster munitions, and other types of ammunition pose a risk if they fail to detonate upon launch.
Short Clearance Window
The report also highlighted that the short clearance window in the spring, after the snow melts and before farmers plant their crops, does not account for disasters like the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam in early June, severely hampered clearance efforts.
Farmers in heavily contaminated regions like Kherson have resorted to visual inspection and armoured their tractors during this year’s crop planting.
The World Bank estimated that mine clearance is slow and costly, with a price tag of approximately $37.4 billion over the next ten years (ranging from $2 to $8 per square meter).
