'Scale we've never seen before': UN expert on Ukraine's mine-riddled territories

The Guardian reported the information.

Among the "gifts" left by the invading Russian forces are large anti-tank or anti-vehicle pressure-plate mines, which contain a lot of explosives (5–10 kg) and are triggered by the weight of heavy equipment such as cars, tanks, or military trucks.

"There is also an awful lot of unexploded shells, rockets, grenades, mortars from the fighting, particularly in the buffer zone where artillery’s got roughly a 20-mile range," Heslop notes.

“While clearing the areas, we are looking at a level of complexity, of scale, that we just haven’t seen before,” he added.

The outlet cites data from Ukraine's State Emergency Service, according to which, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, just under 1,000 people have been injured and 359 have died as a result of mines and explosive remnants of war, including at least 18 children.

The media emphasizes: when the hostilities cease, an invisible danger – mines – will remain for much longer.

• In March, the Ukrainian government stated that 23% of Ukrainian territories remain potentially mined.