More than 240 Ukrainians, civilians and soldiers, have been killed by mines since the start of the Russian invasion. There are 500 who were injured, often seriously, like Vladyslav Yeshenko, whom we met in kyiv. He lost his sight during an intervention.
It was the middle of August, a year ago. It was hot that day near Bakhmout in eastern Ukraine. And yet, “The last thing I said before I passed out was, ‘I’m very cold,'” says Vladyslav Yeshenko. He is in shock at this point.
>> War in Ukraine: follow the latest information live
A few moments earlier, the 25-year-old young man was clearing mines in a wheat field: “I was tending to the last mines and one of them went off. And then the 84 mines in the field exploded. I couldn’t hear anyone, I couldn’t see anything. The explosion threw me backwards.” He then explains: “My arms and legs were burned, my face was shredded.”
“They are sown like seeds”
Vladyslav miraculously survives, but he loses his sight, the fault of these anti-personnel mines frequently used by the Russians: “In a rocket, there can be more than 300 mines. Once in flight, part of the rocket opens and the mines fall to the ground. They are sown like seeds. sink into the earth or they fall into the leaves and become invisible.”
:quality(50)/2023/09/10/ukraine-64fdd29ab06ff525724518.jpg)
Nearly half a million mines found in liberated areas
In Ukraine, the counter-offensive continues to progress, meter by meter, mainly on the southern front. But the forces of kyiv are slowed down by the fortifications put in place by Russia, and by the mines. It is estimated that today, nearly 30% of the surface of the country is mined.
Demining all these areas is a titanic job that takes a lot of time. “When arriving in the liberated territories, there are a variety of threats: anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, unexploded munitions, surprise mines, trap mines”says Vladyslav Yeshenko.
“Every time our guys advance, they run into viciously laid mines, like mines hidden under corpses. And that’s slowing our advance tremendously.”
Vladyslav Yeshenko, Ukrainian deminerat franceinfo
In recent months, Ukrainian deminers have found almost half a million mines in the liberated areas. And that’s just the beginning. “It will take more than a century to completely clean up Ukrainesays Vladyslav Yeshenko. Most mines, the ones on military maps, are easier to find. But there are threats that are harder to spot. For example, mines that look like aerosols. A civilian will not see this as a danger and could be injured or killed.”
Vladyslav Yeshenko has just created an association which raises funds to better care for people injured, like him, by these explosive devices.
Vladyslav, Ukrainian deminer, was seriously injured during an intervention – Boris Loumagne and Yashar Fazylov