More than 144,000 square kilometres of Ukraine are considered potentially mined - Interior Ministry
As of now, more than 144,000 square kilometres of Ukraine are considered potentially mined. More than a year ago, it was 174,000 square kilometres.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
On 1 July, Deputy Interior Minister Bohdan Drapyatyi met with a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. One of the topics of the talks was the issue of mines in Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion.
Drapyaty said during the meeting that thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian sappers and the support of international partners, Ukraine has managed to clear some of the previously contaminated areas.
Thus, as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 144,000 square kilometres of Ukraine are considered potentially mined. More than a year ago, this figure was 174,000 square kilometres.
"Thanks to the help of our partners, we have already cleared some of the mined areas. We are not stopping, we are only increasing our capabilities in this area," said the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
In addition, Bohdan Drapyatyi thanked his Japanese colleagues for training Ukrainian operators, in particular on the operation of Nikken demining machines.
"We feel pain for what is happening to your country, but we are very proud of your resilience and we are trying our best to support you. We are also very impressed with the priorities you have set for demining. Our experts will work even harder to organise new trainings for Ukrainian specialists as soon as possible. Our doors are always open for cooperation," said Hiroto Kamiyoshi, Senior Assistant Director of the Department of Peace Management and Peacebuilding, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The parties also discussed the implementation of a project to rebuild and modernise one of the training centres of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, which is being implemented under the Emergency Recovery Programme.
