A new anthropogenic landscape is forming along the front line, saturated with everything possible: debris, mines, unexploded ordnance, and toxic waste. Fiber optics from drones are also on this list. Millions of kilometers of thin cables litter Ukrainian lands and pose a new challenge for humanitarian demining teams.
It would be absurd to stop using fiber-optic drones for “environmental” reasons, but deminers are already thinking about the risks they face in trying to conduct humanitarian demining in affected areas. And farmers are faced with uncertainty – it is impossible to conduct research in the fields or predict the development of events after the liberation of the territories or the end of hostilities, because the problem is new.
Read more…
Source: Mezha News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine -Update 192
November 3, 2023
On Thursday – when the rotation of IAEA experts took place – there were Russian reports of drone attacks in the town of Enerhodar, where many plant staff live. Almost every day in recent weeks and months, the IAEA experts have continued to hear explosions some distance away from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), ...
- Ukraine: M1 Abrams-Based Mine Clearing Vehicle Appears In-Country
November 3, 2023
The U.S.-made M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) will provide critical capabilities helping Ukrainian troops clear the hundreds of miles of dense mine fields the Russians have built up. The U.S. Army describes the M1150 ABV as a “highly mobile and heavily armored minefield and complex obstacle breaching system. It consists of an M1A1 Abrams tank hull; ...
- Ukraine Is Using AI to Help Clear Millions of Russian Landmines
November 2, 2023
The humanitarian process used to detect and clear unexploded land mines has changed little since World War II. Until recently, Ukraine had no unified database that kept track of surveyed terrain or aggregated information from commercial, international, and government operators, Ukrainian officials told TIME. Decisions were made based on a predetermined priority list and often outdated ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 191
October 27, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have assessed the damage caused by this week’s powerful explosions near Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP), observing 26 broken windows but reporting no impact on nuclear safety and security at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. The IAEA team present at the KhNPP has conducted a ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 190
October 25, 2023
Powerful explosions shook an area near Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP) overnight, shattering many windows at the site and temporarily cutting power to some off-site radiation monitoring stations, once again highlighting the dangers to nuclear safety and security during the ongoing military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency ...
- Ukrainian sappers destroy mine washed ashore in Odesa region
October 22, 2023
In the town of Chornomorsk, Odesa region, military sappers have successfully neutralized a sea mine that washed ashore earlier. The sea mine was discovered in the Chornomosrk Bay on Friday, October 20. Due to a strong storm, the initial controlled destruction failed so the mine remained in the coastal waters until a favorable weather set in ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 189
October 20, 2023
In the latest indications of military activities some distance away from the ZNPP, the experts have continued to hear explosions almost every day and they have also heard occasional machine gun fire. The IAEA has been informed that the power supply to Enerhodar was cut for more than two hours in the evening of 18 ...
- Israeli Merkava Tanks Appear With ‘Cope Cage’ Armor
October 16, 2023
Israeli Merkava tanks have emerged with metal armor screens on top of their turrets as the country continues to prepare for a major ground assault into the Gaza Strip. The Russian military was the first to employ this kind of add-on armor, often derisively referred to as “cope cages,” on tanks and other armored vehicles. ...
- Ukraine: Two teens blow up on mine in Mykolaiv region
October 15, 2023
In Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, one teenager died and another was injured after a mine set off. This was reported by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko. “A 14-year-old teenage boy died in the Bashtanka district, Mykolaiv region. His 12-year-old friend sustained injuries. Children were playing in the field outside the village where hostilities had been ...
- Almost €500 million allocated for mine clearance in Ukraine
October 13, 2023
Ukraine has allocated about €500 million for mine clearance, which will be spent on survey equipment, machinery and equipment for bomb disposal experts. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that taking into account previous support packages, about €500 million have been raised for demining for Ukraine. That includes, in particular, €100 million from Switzerland, about €20 million ...
- Norway to allocate additional $18.5M for mine clearance activities in Ukraine
October 11, 2023
The Government of Norway will allocate an additional NOK 200 million (about $18.5 million) in funding earmarked for clearance of mines and other explosives in Ukraine. “Clearing mines saves lives and protects civilians, especially children. Mine clearance is also essential to be able to provide other types of emergency assistance and rebuild infrastructure. Preventing further loss of ...
- UK-led coalition to give Ukraine 100 million pound mine-clearing support package
October 11, 2023
A British-led group of European countries will provide Ukraine with a 100 million pound ($122.70 million) package to support its armed forces including equipment to clear minefields. Britain’s defence ministry on Wednesday said Ukraine was “now the most mined country on earth,” which had become an obstacle in its counter-offensive this year, and that mine clearing ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 187
October 11, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were today granted access to the rooftop of reactor unit 2 of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and did not observe any mines or explosives there, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. From the top of the building, the IAEA team could also observe the entire rooftop of its ...
- NATO bomb disposal training now crucial part of Ukraine military support
October 9, 2023
An annual exercise aimed at showing recruits how to get rid of explosive devices took part in Iceland. A NATO mission training soldiers in bomb disposal, used in conflicts throughout the world, is now a crucial part of the multi-national exercises supporting the Ukrainian military. “Here we’re trying to give all the EOD teams the experience ...
- UNICEF donates 15 mobile safety classes to Ukraine to raise public awareness of mine threats
October 9, 2023
UNICEF handed over 15 mobile security classes to the State Emergency Service and the National Police to raise public awareness of mine threats, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. “We are starting to implement an initiative to raise public awareness of mines and other threats, in particular in de-occupied and front-line territories. These are specially equipped vehicles ...

