Mine clearance of fields on the right bank of Kherson region to be completed by summer 2025

The demining of the right bank of the Kherson region is proceeding faster than expected. Earlier it was predicted that this process could take 5, 10 or even 20 years. However, thanks to the efforts of more than a thousand sappers working in the region, the task has been significantly accelerated.

This was stated by Dmytro Yunusov, Director of the Department of Agriculture of the Kherson Regional Military Administration.

According to him, in the de-occupied Kherson region, sappers have already cleared 76% of the agricultural land used by farmers before the Russian invasion. As a result, the number of cases of farmers being blown up by mines has significantly decreased.

Units of the State Emergency Service, State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations, National Police, National Guard and other agencies are involved in demining. The plan for 2025 is to complete the demining of the fields by the summer of 2025, in particular in the Kalynivka, Velyko Oleksandrivska and Vysokopilska communities.

At the same time, Yunusov noted that the work is currently being carried out in areas far from the Dnipro River, as sappers cannot work in the 5-kilometer coastal zone due to constant Russian shelling. After the fields are cleared of mines, the specialists will focus on forest belts and plantations.

In October, the Czech Republic hosted the Future Forces Forum 2024. Among the topics was the experience of demining Kherson region.

Meanwhile, it will take Ukraine up to five years to clear hundreds of sea mines in the waters of Mykolaiv and Kherson. For large-scale demining, Ukraine is counting on the support of partners in the Black Sea region, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia. These countries already face a mine threat, as mines sometimes reach their shores. Work is now underway to train specialists and check co-authors.

Ірина Глухова