The “Washington Post” writes that America also contributed to the mining of Ukrainian territory by supplying Kiev with 155-millimeter artillery shells that create temporary minefields and “M-21” anti-tank mines.
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The conflict with Russia has turned Ukraine into the most mine-contaminated country in the world, and it will take 757 years to remove all unexploded ammunition, writes the American daily “Washington Post”, citing data from the Ukrainian authorities and several non-governmental demining organizations.
According to the research organization “Globsek”, which is headquartered in Slovakia, almost a third of Ukraine is affected by heavy fighting and demining will most likely be necessary, and more than 173,529 square kilometers are contaminated with unactivated ammunition.
“The sheer amount of munitions in Ukraine is unprecedented in the past 30 years,” said British NGO demining program director Greg Krauter.
According to the American daily, both sides are actively using mines in their operations.
The “Washington Post” writes that America also contributed to the mining of Ukrainian territory by supplying Kiev with 155 mm caliber artillery shells that create temporary minefields and M-21 anti-tank mines.
“Washington’s decision to send cluster munitions to Kiev only further complicates the situation,” the daily writes.
According to certain assumptions, it will take 757 years to remove all the unexploded ordnance scattered throughout Ukraine, even if 500 teams were to work on it.
The World Bank estimated that the cost of these operations could cost $37.4 billion over the next ten years.
The report of the State Department states that Washington has so far earmarked about 95 million dollars for demining operations in Ukraine.
SRNA