Civilian safety in the context of mine warfare in Ukraine
Civilian safety in the context of mine warfare in Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: This article reveals the threats to the safety of civilians associatedwith the extensive mining of Ukrainian territory, which is a sideeffect of the fierce fighting taking place in that country since theinvasion by Russian Federation troops and the Wagner Group mer-cenary formations working with them. Both belligerents employsubstantial numbers of mines and barriers, including anti-tank,anti-personnel and anti-amphibian mines in combat operations.Improvised explosive devices are frequently used to harass theopposing side. Further, the intense fighting carried out with tank,artillery, rocket and various aerial munitions leaves behind vastquantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other explosive anddangerous items. This article presents the various types of weap-ons used in the course of hostilities on Ukrainian territory, whichnot only contribute to the UXO contamination of the area but,above all, pose a lethal threat to the civilian population. The scaleof these dangers is enormous, and each new day of fighting onlymultiplies them. While the civilian security services take numerousmeasures to rapidly demine Ukraine, civilian casualties caused byUXO and other explosive and dangerous items occur virtually everyday. The final section outlines the challenges that Ukraine will facein the coming years in terms of ensuring the safety of civilians, aswell as recommendations for international assistance to Ukrainein implementing the process of clearing the country’s territory ofexplosive and dangerous items.

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