Ukraine, one in eight victims of landmines and war devices is a child: but the bombs were already there before the war

ROME – One in eight people killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance is a child, reports Save the Children. According to the United Nations, since the war began in February last year, there are already 758 victims of war remnants, and 12 percent of these are children.

Even before the war Ukraine was contaminated. Accidents caused by unexploded ordnance continue to grow along with the number of injuries and deaths. In the last month and a half there have been 126 deaths, which is an average of 3 civilians killed or injured every day. Before the war broke out, Ukraine was already one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. Since February 2022, however, the portion of land at risk of bombs has increased tenfold, occupying 30 percent of the country’s surface: an area twice the size of Portugal or equal to the state of Florida in the United States.

The accidents. Children in Ukraine are at an increasing risk of stepping on a landmine or unknowingly picking up ammunition that can cause death or life-changing injuries forever. On 29 March, there were four deaths from the bombs, including that of a 16-year-old boy and that of a 34-year-old man. Both stepped on an anti-personnel mine on a country road in the town of Barvinkove, about 50 km southwest of Izyum, Kharkiv region. Another family, in the same area, survived a landmine that exploded under the car they were traveling in to fetch water from a well.

A testimony. “Every time you go out, you have to watch where you step. You can no longer walk along the paths, you can no longer pick berries or mushrooms. All forests and fields are completely littered with explosives. You can only walk along roads that the deminers have already checked more than once,” a witness from the Kharkiv area told Save the Children.

Play outdoors. Veronika is an 8-year-old girl whose father lost his leg after stepping on a mine that fell in his garden. Veronika’s mother told the organization that it is difficult to find a family that does not have a relative affected by explosives. “I like playing outside and riding my bike, but I can only do it with my parents. They always stay with me and watch where I go”, – says Veronika. With the arrival of spring, the contaminated territory becomes even more dangerous for children who would like to spend more time playing outdoors.

Reclaim the area. According to Kharkiv oblast governor Oleh Syniehubov, the state emergency service collected about 116 explosive devices on March 29. The state emergency service itself has predicted that after the end of the war it will take at least ten years to de-mine the entire territory of Ukraine.

Raise awareness of the danger of mines. To educate children about the risks of explosives, Save the Children is distributing information leaflets on landmines and organizing awareness-raising sessions in schools across Ukraine together with the association of deminers. “First of all we teach children that there are no safe explosive objects, so when they find one they should not go near it or touch it. Then we explain to them how to recognize a contaminated area”, says Yevhen, who contributes to the demining work in the area.

Obstacles to humanitarian interventions. The contaminated land also complicates the transport of humanitarian supplies, because the presence of mines prevents them from reaching people living in the most remote areas and who usually need the most help, and also prevents people from fleeing on foot when fighting escalates. .