The danger for the sapper is to lose vigilance and succumb to excitement

During the war, Ukraine turned into the most heavily mined state in the world, even compared to countries such as Afghanistan and Syria, where territories are contaminated with mines, bombs and shells. “Cleaning up” this area will cost more than $37 billion.

The Washington Post writes about this The mined territory of Ukraine is so large that experts estimate that it will take 500 demining teams 757 years to completely clear it.

Experienced sappers are worth their weight in gold during a war. Considering the huge size of the territories mined by the enemy, their work is becoming more and more in demand every day. Sappers from all law enforcement agencies, in particular the National Police, have been involved in mine clearance. The combined squad of police explosives experts works in the de-occupied territories and includes specialists from different regions of the country.

Valentin Kondratyuk, inspector of the explosion-technical service of the Main Directorate of Civil Defense in the Zhytomyr region, spoke about how demining takes place.

Why are sappers prohibited from working alone?

— For a sapper, every step can be the last. Valentin, how do you cope with the fear that inevitably arises during your work?

“The main thing is to be able to master your fear.” Use it as a weapon. Fear should mobilize a person: he begins to think faster and make adequate decisions. The worst thing is when a person loses the feeling of fear, stops being afraid or succumbs to excitement and is ready to move mountains on adrenaline. But this is very dangerous, because in such a situation the sapper loses caution and attentiveness. His partner must notice this and stop him. That is why sappers are prohibited from working alone. Partners constantly monitor each other, help and protect. The main goal of a sapper's work is the preservation of human life, and the preservation of property comes second.

— What is the main task of your unit in the de-occupied territories of the country?

“We identify explosive devices left behind after combat operations. For example, in the Kiev region, huge areas were simply littered with broken enemy equipment and scattered ammunition, because they entered in columns and came under a barrage of our artillery. The enemy did not have much time to completely mine the Kiev region, so our task was to identify unexploded ordnance, mainly shells. But in the Kharkov region, and especially the Kherson region, there is a very high density of mining. Often in three layers: underground, on the ground and above the ground (trip mines). It happened that while pulling out one anti-tank mine, several nearby ones detonated. Many mines had traps: another special one is placed under the mine, which explodes if handled improperly. Anything could happen, because people get tired and lose attentiveness.

— Have you lost fellow sappers while performing tasks?

— In our unit, thank God, there were no losses, but in other units of the combined detachment there were losses. My comrade Igor Melnik from Cherkasy region died. We met at the police academy training center before the war, where we studied together and received mine clearance diplomas. Literally two weeks before the war we took a course on explosives. And last year we worked together in Kherson as part of a combined detachment. Igor died while clearing mines... It’s paradoxical, but the best and most experienced are leaving us. But it is not so easy and quick to train a new specialist, because this work is not only specific, it is on the verge of physical and mental capabilities. A sapper must have a healthy nervous system, self-control, be attentive, not panic, and be able to communicate with people. Not everyone has such qualities. All sappers undergo psychodiagnostics before starting training.

Everything that the enemies could not take out was destroyed and created rubble

— In which region was it most difficult?

— In Kherson, where we arrived on the fifth day after de-occupation. We cleared the premises where Russian soldiers had previously lived. What was left behind was a real Armageddon: everything that they couldn’t take out was destroyed and created huge rubble. In order for local residents to be able to enter the premises and clean everything, we had to check them for explosive devices. In particular, they found untoned grenades, some of which were hidden by the enemy. Inspecting premises is quite a long and painstaking job. Imagine that we have to reconsider every drawer in all the furniture, and there are hundreds of them in offices! The difficulty is that the box cannot be simply opened, because there may be a tripwire that will immediately trigger. Therefore, a rope is tied to it, the sapper takes it in his hands, moves away a few meters and begins to slowly pull. Then he waits and pulls again to open the drawer even further. If everything is calm, he can come over and examine it. And if a table with drawers stood near the wall, we tied a rope and made special levers and other devices to safely open each drawer a little. This continues for several hours, but there is no other way.

— Have any deadly “surprises” been identified?

- Yes. Sappers from our region, who also worked in the combined detachment, told me about such a case. They inspected the premises of the GUNP in Kherson. We started work on the basement. Near the entrance, just in the middle of the room, they saw a large chest, which seemed suspicious to them. It was as if he was asking: “Take me.” The sappers tied a rope to the chest, and hooked its other end to a car that was located at a great distance. As soon as the car moved and pulled the chest along with it, an explosion was heard. It was so powerful that three floors of the house collapsed at once. As it turned out, the chest was mined in such a way that it was impossible to clear it. Thanks to the experience and intuition of our sappers, not a single person was injured.

Worked under constant fire

— Were there any obstacles that complicated the work?

— In Kherson there was such a high density of enemy fire from the left bank of the Dnieper that arrivals were a constant occurrence. Once we drove through the center of Kherson, and a shell from the Grad MLRS arrived at the place where we were just a few seconds ago. We are very lucky. These massive attacks made the work more difficult. Not only do you take risks while clearing mines, but you also think about how something might fly from above. But a person gets used to everything, and when we returned home, we no longer even had enough of those emotions...

— How did the locals in Kherson treat you?

“We arrived a few days after the de-occupation and saw locals who were happy, hugged us, and children even came running to get an autograph.

— How can Western technology facilitate the mine clearance process?

“I’ve seen different mine clearance machines that really make the job easier. And if the mining density is high, then the large equipment may simply not withstand the power of the explosion during operation, and restoration or repair can take a lot of time. Although in general such machines are very necessary, because they speed up the process and save the lives of sappers. But technology cannot cope with all methods of mining, so it is unlikely that it will ever completely replace qualified specialists.

— How does a sapper need to work to stay alive?

— Think a few steps ahead. It may sound trivial, but before you stand somewhere, you need to check the soil with a sapper probe. Much depends on the weather and the soil itself. A dense dirt road and loose arable land require different working methods. You can use a metal detector in one place, and only a probe in another. You work in a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and weapons—the equipment weighs up to 30 kilograms. It takes a whole day to completely clear a five-by-five-meter section of the field where there are anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. And if there are booby traps there, then even longer. The main thing is not to rush and relax.

Sappers have a lot of work during the war, and after it ends there will be even more. Today, more than 30% of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with explosive objects. According to international indicators, this is the highest level since the Second World War.