It will take more than 700 years to demine Ukraine - experts

It will take about 750 years and tens of billions of dollars to completely demine the territory of Ukraine. The Washington Post has quoted experts as saying.

Fighting is still going on, but reports by the Ukrainian government and independent demining groups say that the number of mined areas is unprecedented," the newspaper said.

It is noted that as of today, the total area of mined territories is 67,181 square miles or 173,998 square kilometres. At the same time, the threat in these territories are mines, artillery shells, bombs and other deadly devices.

Greg Crowther, programme director of the Mines Advisory Group, which deals with unexploded ordnance clearance around the world and whose assessment of the situation is quoted by the newspaper, notes that the territory of Ukraine is more mined than the territory of Syria or Afghanistan. He noted that more than 2,000 shells had been identified and were awaiting clearance.

The Washington Post notes that the Russians widely use the practice of mined territories. At the same time, explosive devices are placed in the forests and in populated areas. This practice has two main goals - to prevent a counter-offensive by the Ukrainians and to cause maximum damage to the Ukrainian population.

Ukrainian territory is so heavily mined and the area is so vast that according to some estimates, 500 demining teams will have to work for 757 years," the newspaper said.

According to World Bank estimates, demining will be expensive. It costs between $2 and $8 to clear one square metre of land of enemy explosive devices. According to preliminary estimates, Ukraine will have to spend up to 37.4bn dollars on demining in 10 years.