Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a video address to the Austrian Parliament.
According to Zelenskyy, the size of Ukrainian territory contaminated by shells and mines is like two territories of Austria.
“174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance. This contaminated area is the size of two Austrian territories. These are hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, rockets from rocket artillery, aircraft bombs, mortar shells and ammunition that have not exploded and are stuck in the fields,” Zelenskyy said.
The leader noted that the Russians left explosives in civilian buildings, gardens, parks and vegetable gardens. In addition, camouflaged grenades take lives of Ukrainians in the liberated territories almost every day.
“Unfortunately, every day there are reports of explosions that have claimed lives and injured people. All this is a part of the self-portrait of Russia today, which it creates with its aggression, its crazy war,” the president emphasized.
Zelenskyy also recalled the regular cases of deliberate mining by the occupying forces of such items as musical instruments, wardrobes, bags, washing machines, etc.