UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Mar 25 — In the morning, a tractor driver ran over a TM-62P anti-tank mine in a field near the village of Pryshyb in the Balakliia community, reported the State Emergency Service in the Kharkiv Oblast.

“As a result of the explosive detonation, the tractor was destroyed, and the driver was injured. Sappers of the State Emergency Service were also working at the scene,” reported the State Emergency Service in the Kharkiv Oblast.

In February 2024, a sapper unit of the Luhansk garrison of the State Emergency Service began clearing the territory of the Kharkiv Oblast using mechanized demining. Before that, sappers had been working in the Kherson Oblast for about a year. Gwara Media journalists visited the sappers in the Balakliia community to see how the process of mechanized demining of areas is carried out.

About the demining of Ukrainian territories

Ukraine is currently one of the most mined countries in the world. Due to the full-scale invasion of the country, more than 1/4 of Ukraine’s territory is potentially affected by explosives. Defense forces, State Emergency Service deminers, and mine action operators are working on demining.

Kharkiv Oblast is one of the most heavily mined regions of Ukraine. As of March 14, 2024, sappers defused 166,223 explosive devices on the region’s territory, having surveyed 9,580 hectares.

Among the most dangerous communities due to mining are the borderline hromadas (communities) of Vovchansk, Vilkhuvata, Petropavlivka, and Borova. In March 2024, sappers will begin testing an active-drive demining machine.

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