'It will take hundreds of years to fully demine': Ukrainian defenders showcase demining efforts

How Ukraine is being demined (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

After the de-occupation, many important civilian facilities in the Kharkiv region remained dangerous, and sappers are now destroying Russian mines and shells there. It may take hundreds of years to completely clear the territory of Ukraine, according to the Kholodnyi Yar 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

How Ukraine being de-mined

"Ukraine is the most mined country in the world. The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources estimates that 176,000 square kilometers of the territory may be mined. And it will take hundreds of years to completely clear it of mines," the brigade says.

After the de-occupation of the Kharkiv region, schools, civilian houses, cemeteries, fields and plantations where the front line was located remain dangerous.

"Tons of destructive hardware prevents us from living and using this land and buildings, although it would seem that the front has moved far away. Somewhere in the cemetery, there are minefields left by the Russian occupiers during their retreat. In some places, mines are lying in front of positions that were dug right in the yard of a private house," the statement says.

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Local communities sometimes ask the Ukrainian military who defended these villages to destroy mines and shells.

"The deminers also remove unexploded shells and mines on the routes of military vehicles. They are potentially explosive and are also subject to disposal," the brigade explains.

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)

Deminers of the 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar demining Ukraine (photo: Instagram/93_brygada)