Demining Ukraine could take almost a thousand years

In territories de-occupied by Russians, dozens of cases of civilians being blown up by mines have been recorded. As a rule, tragedies also occur in regions close to the front.

It will take 757 years to clear Ukrainian territories of explosives using conventional methods and resources. TIME wrote about this on Thursday, November 2, citing expert assessments.

It is noted that during the full-scale invasion of Russia, Ukraine became the most mined country in the world, ahead of Afghanistan and Syria.

“A third of Ukrainian territory is littered with millions of unexploded mines and cluster bombs, as well as wires, booby traps and shell fragments,” the article states.

It is noted that the huge minefields not only slowed down Ukraine's counter-offensive, but also endangered the lives of six million civilians and rendered some of the country's most valuable agricultural land unusable, affecting both the Ukrainian economy and the global food supply.

TIME points out that according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, at least 264 civilians in Ukraine have been killed by mines, and more than 830 have been maimed or injured.

“Officials say the death toll from landmine detonations could reach 9,000 by 2030 if the problem is not effectively addressed,” the report emphasizes.