A 66-year-old woman was wounded in an explosion caused by a Russian anti-personnel mine in a forest in Kharkiv Oblast’s Izium, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on March 17.
Another civilian stepped on a Russian landmine when collecting firewood in a village in southern Kherson Oblast, according to the regional administration.
As a result of the explosion, the 57-year-old resident of Mala Seidemynukha was left “without a part of his left leg” and suffered shrapnel wounds, the administration wrote.
Both victims are reportedly in serious condition and currently receiving medical assistance.
Local authorities of Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts urged residents to avoid fields, forests, riverbanks, and other places that have not yet been examined by sappers.
Ukrainian forces liberated Izium and most of Kharkiv Oblast in September after about six months of Russian occupation. According to the oblast governor, mines left by Russian troops remain a serious danger in the region.
The village of Mala Seidemynukha is located on the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. Russian forces were pushed to the river’s east bank when Ukraine liberated Kherson in November 2022, from where they had been firing at the liberated territories.
According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, nearly one-third of Ukraine, including liberated and occupied territories, remains mined as of March 1.
(Updated: )
