Sweden will donate 250 mine detectors to Ukraine to help deal with the effects of flooding after a dam on the Dnieper River was blown up; Stockholm will also send a sapper mission to Ukraine, Ukrainian news agencies reported citing a Swedish government statement.
The statement, reported by Korrespondent.net on Wednesday evening, indicated that mines carried by the floods pose a threat to the lives of residents in the flooded areas. Stockholm will also send a mission of 250 sappers to Ukraine to speed up the clearance of mines.
The mine detectors, valued at EUR 1.3 million, will be handed over to Ukraine in the near future.
According to assessments by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), mines carried by floodwaters as a result of the blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam will pose a threat for years. When the water recedes, the mines may be buried under at least a metre thick layer of sand or silt and may settle where they have never been before.
Ukraine’s defence ministry has warned in recent days that flooding after the Russians blew up a dam on the Dnieper carries mines and explosives from Russian defence lines on the left bank of the river. These charges are a threat to the areas where they will be dumped.
Source: TVP World
