A 47-year-old man and his seven-year-old son were injured in an explosion caused by landlines left behind by Russian troops in Buhaivka, Kharkiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Dec. 28.
Both have been hospitalized, Syniehubov said.
He urged civilians to be careful of unexploded ordnances, especially in territories liberated from Russian occupation.
According to Serhii Kruk, who heads Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, about 30% of Ukrainian territory is mined due to Russia’s full-scale war, equal to twice the area of Austria.
Cases of doors, household items, and even dead bodies being rigged with booby traps have been recorded in liberated territories across Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said that Russia’s “mine terror” will have to be resisted for many years.
“Terrorists deliberately try to leave behind as many death traps as possible,” Zelensky said on Dec. 8. “Buried landmines, tripwire mines, mined buildings, cars, and infrastructure. This is more than 170,000 square kilometers of dangerous territory.”
