Clearing mines in the Donbas can cost over 800 million dollars
Expenditures for clearing every mine in the Donbas can exceed 800 million dollars, said the Minister for Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, Vadym Chernysh to Radio Svoboda.
"[These are the] preliminary estimates of mine clearance. The area of Croatia is about fifty thousand square kilometers. In 20 years Croatia has spent a little over 800 million dollars for mine clearance of its territory: mine clearance for development in order to plow, sow and build there,” the Minister said.
He said that the numbers are approximate and that a full assessment can be made after the liberation of the occupied territories of the Donbas. According to Chernysh, it is necessary to establish a government body that will coordinate all activities related to mine clearance and careful handling with ammunition.
"Mine clearance is not only the destruction of mines or remnants of munitions. Several hundred thousand people live in a war zone. These people should be trained to handle munitions carefully; to avoid getting killed by a land mine, the territory should be marked... This is such a big range of problems that are being ignored,” the Minister noted.
As earlier reported, specialists stated that mine clearance of the Donbas can take ten to fifteen years and that this process will cost Ukraine more than one billion dollars.