Ukraine's State Emergency Service has confirmed that 277 people, including 14 children, have been killed by Russian landmines and other explosive devices since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrinform reported on Dec. 27.
Speaking at a media briefing, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's State Emergency Service, confirmed that another 608 people were injured, including 74 children as a result of explosions caused by landmines.
Khorunzhyi also noted that military bomb squad have neutralized 464,000 explosive devices across Ukraine, including 3,145 unexploded aerial bombs. In recent weeks, demining has become constrained due to snow cover and cold temperatures.
Earlier this year, former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed that Ukraine has become the world's most heavily mined nation in the world, with 750,000 hectares or about 30 percent of its Ukraine's territory currently mined. Currently, most of the demining efforts are being conducted in the Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson oblasts.
The concentration of mines in Russian-occupied regions has been a key factor in slowing Ukraine's counteroffensive, limiting territorial gains in the east and south.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
