reportage
Up to 40 percent of Ukraine's area could be mined. Farmers are often directly affected by this. Some clear mines from their fields themselves – knowing full well that this would put their lives in danger.
Geese chatter and walk around. Fields stretch out behind their wooden enclosure. Tomatoes and peppers hang on some bushes. Grain grows in other places. Vitali Sydor's family farm in Novohryhoryvka in the south of Ukraine is idyllic only at first glance. A few meters next to the animal enclosure there is metal scrap – including rusted rocket parts and grenades. Remnants of the initial phase of the Russian invasion, when the village in the Mykolaiv region found itself in the middle of the front line for months.
Sydor remembers it with horror: “We hid in the basement. Once we ventured out, my father told us to run to the car and drive away. Then the next tank shell came. An explosion, stones flew through the house.”
Farmers take care of demining themselves
The 29-year-old finally fled. Since their return, the family has been gradually rebuilding their house. Other buildings in Novohryhoryvka remain destroyed or riddled with bullet holes. In addition to rebuilding the village, Vitali Sydor says the most important task after his return was clearing the fields of mines – which he initially took care of himself.
“In the beginning there was a lot of metal, especially unexploded. We then figured out how to deal with it. There are different types of grenades – some you can't easily pick up, others you can remove yourself relatively safely.”
He was helped by an acquaintance who had fought in Donbass since 2014 and was familiar with explosive devices. “We went back and forth in the field with metal detectors. If we found something, we marked the spot with a flag. Some things had to be pulled out with tractors – rocket parts, for example.”
During the course of the war, farmer Vitali Sydor found some rocket parts and grenades in his fields.
A Norwegian non-governmental organization has now helped Sydor with the demining. However, he cleared a large part of his 210 hectares of agricultural land himself or at least marked the dangerous areas – so that he knew which area he could use again for cultivation.
He is aware that he risked his life by doing so. “Recently a man nearby blew up his tractor. I'm also afraid when I sit on the tractor. When I get on it, I cross myself – and drive off. How can I do it any other way?”
“Farmers can barely stay afloat”
Vitali Sydor says he had to wait too long before the Ukrainian state demined his home area. He still suspects there are some mines in his fields. But his family has to live on something. Especially since the economic situation for farmers is already precarious. The port in nearby Mykolaiv is closed due to the war, and income has also fallen.
“I used to get $170 for a ton of barley. In Ismail on the Danube, I barely got $80 per ton. After the port in Odessa reopened, the price rose to $110. But diesel has become more expensive. Many farmers can just barely staying afloat.”
In the early stages of the Russian invasion, the village of Novohryhoryvka, where Vitali Sydor's farm is located, was in the middle of the front line for months. The traces can still be seen today.
More than 240,000 square kilometers could be mined
According to estimates by the US think tank Center for European Policy Analysis, up to 40 percent of Ukraine's total area could be contaminated with mines – that would be around 240,000 square kilometers.
Ukraine is supported by international partners in its demining efforts – including HALO Trust, a UK-based demining organization. Their project manager in southern Ukraine, Jasmine Dann, warns urgently against defusing mines on your own: “It's very dangerous. Even though I understand very well why farmers do it. But if an area really needs to be made safe, it has to be done thoroughly and… be professionally defused.”
The HALO Trust experts dig around a mine centimeter by centimeter, she says. The explosive device is then rendered harmless by a controlled detonation.
Demining could take more than a decade
The situation in Ukraine differs from other war zones in one aspect, says the expert: “In the south of Ukraine, the front has often moved back and forth. This has resulted in complex minefields of different types. Some of these mines are very sensitive and… “For example, they explode due to magnetic signals – if a vehicle drives past the mine.”
According to its own information, HALO Trust has already managed to release a large part of the contaminated Ukrainian agricultural land. Which is important for food safety in Ukraine and the world as a whole, as the organization explains. But the capacity for demining is limited and the amount of explosive devices is enormous, says Jasmine Dann: “Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work for us. As of today, it would take at least another decade to completely demine Ukraine.” However, how long it actually takes depends on when the war ends.
Vitali Sydor's exhaustion is noticeable on his farm. On the one hand, he would like further support to finally clear his fields of mines. In the defensive battle against Russia, he says he is counting on a victory – but he also hopes that the war will simply end. “We live in the 21st century. We, ordinary people, are not responsible. The two presidents need to sit down together, look each other in the eye, and find a solution.”
