General Staff: 928 mines neutralized in 3 oblasts over past week
The State Special Transport Service's demining units discovered, confiscated, and neutralized 928 mines across three oblasts over the past week, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 17.
According to the General Staff, 650 mines were neutralized in Kharkiv Oblast, 169 in Kherson Oblast, and 109 in Mykolaiv Oblast.
The demining efforts of the past week cleared nearly 1,400 hectares of land in Kherson Oblast, 34 hectares in Mykolaiv Oblast, and almost 11 hectares in Kharkiv Oblast.
Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the demining units of the State Special Transport Service have discovered, confiscated, and neutralized 91,603 mines near water areas, roads, railway tracks, power lines, and gas pipelines.
In early October, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that around 6 million people are threatened by mines in Ukraine, and thousands may be killed or injured unless appropriate steps are taken.
Mines have already killed two hundred and fifty people, and over 500 have been injured, the prime minister added.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in early March that nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory had been mined since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Clearing the land will be a massive and years-long undertaking.
Rich Wordsworth
