At least a hundred people have died in the region liberated by booby traps, most of them peasants and hikers
When does a war end? Officially it does so when the leaders of the countries in dispute sign a peace treaty and shake hands. This, at least, is how it usually appears in history books. But there are those who maintain that warfare ends when its effects disappear: when the refugees can return to their homes, the destroyed infrastructures are repaired, the civilians bury their dead in peace and the investigation commissions determine the responsibility of the actors.
No one knows for sure when the Ukrainian war will end. In recent days, the rumor of a possible negotiation promoted from the West has gained strength. Whenever the Ukrainians and Russians decide to sit down to talk or one of the parties is completely defeated in the military field -something improbable-, the consequences of the conflict will be prolonged. At least five years.
It is the time that Ukraine anticipates it will take to demine the country and, therefore, the time that civilians will have to wait to walk without fear on their land. This is the latest estimate of the experts who advise the Government of Volodímir Zelenski. This was expressed this Wednesday by the Vice Minister of Internal Affairs, Marie Hakobyan. “The main efforts of the pyrotechnic units are directed at critical infrastructure facilities, demining of water, gas, heat and electricity networks with the aim of their restoration in the Kherson, Kharkov, Bogodukhiv, Izium and Chuguyiv regions,” she noted. . And she gave a fact. So far, employees of the State Emergency Service have neutralized 180,205 explosive objects.
Efforts are concentrated especially in the recently liberated Kherson. It is estimated that there are at least 5,000 mines in the liberated territories, to which must be added 2,500 that have already been deactivated. Although Hakobyan warned that “200,000 square kilometers of unoccupied territories have not yet been controlled by our Armed Forces.” “Some territories were deliberately mined during the withdrawal of Russian troops. Remnants of explosive objects are also found in combat zones,” he said.
The task that lies ahead is herculean. For this, there are twenty-five units of the State Emergency Service operating in the area, as well as pyrotechnic teams from the National Police and the National Guard. The Mykolaiv-Kherson highway, railway stations and fifty kilometers of tracks have already been cleared. In total, seventeen hectares of land have been examined.
In any case, kyiv walks on lead feet. 90% of demining work is carried out by human forces, because there is not enough equipment and robotics that would help expedite the work and save human lives. “At least thirty specialists have died” in demining tasks and “around one hundred people have died due to booby traps,” the Interior Ministry detailed in a statement. Most of them were farmers working in the fields and hikers stepping on a fatal artifact.
torture chambers
In addition to the mines, there is another terrible discovery that the Ukrainian troops make as they advance through the liberated territories: the torture chambers. In Kherson, where the Russian occupation has lasted eight months, four have already been discovered.
These rooms of terror were located in basements and buildings. The soldiers access them thanks to the indications of the neighbors. The executioners acted for various reasons: to obtain information about the Ukrainian military positions, to press for collaborators or for pure pleasure. The testimonies that surface these days reveal medieval punishments: broken bones, suffocation or summary executions.
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