Russia's planting mines everywhere, even cruelly hiding explosives in everyday items like fridges, toys, and children's books, Ukrainian military engineers say

Ukrainian military sappers demine the road in a fog close to Kherson, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

AP Photo/LIBKOS

• Russian soldiers who previously occupied Ukrainian territory left it littered with land mines. 
• Ukrainian military engineers told Insider that Russia also set deadly booby traps in people's homes.
• Moscow's troops hid explosives in every items like toys, fridges, and even children's books. 

Ukraine has been battling Russia's invasion for more than 17 months, but it's held it's own and even managed to liberate massive swaths of land that it lost early in the fighting. By some Western estimates, around 50 percent of what was initially seized has already been reclaimed by Kyiv's troops. 

But expelling the Russians from towns, cities, and rural areas doesn't mean eliminating the threat altogether. Occupying soldiers have left behind a deadly and vicious problem for Ukraine — one that will cause it headaches for years and years to come: the widespread deployment of land mines and traps. 

Russia has practically mined everything, Ukrainian military engineers told Insider in a recent interview. And they often do so for no obvious tactical advantage. For instance, they cruelly hide explosives in everyday household items like refrigerators, toys, and even children's books. The goal is simply to inflict as much damage as possible. 

Mines are, of course, also a huge problem on the front lines. During the months leading up to the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia built layers of elaborate defenses, with one of those fortifications being sprawling minefields along the front in the eastern and southern regions. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said last month that this the biggest problem for Ukraine to solve, and the leading cause of casualties among Kyiv's troops.  

A sapper checks an area as rescuers work at a residential building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 16, 2022.

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Between Russia's current defensive lines and the mines left behind from earlier phases of the war, Ukraine has effectively become the most mined country in the world — with some officials suggesting that over 40 percent of the country's territory may be contaminated. It could take centuries to clean up all the explosives at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. Some observers have even suggested it may never be completely demined.

Removing these mines is a painstaking and deadly process, often carried out by sappers, combat engineers tasked with everything from building bridges to clearing minefields.

One of these individuals is Oleksandr, who leads a small team of young sappers engaged in humanitarian demining efforts around Kyiv and other regions in northern Ukraine. This area had been under Russian occupation during the early weeks and months of the war, but even after it was liberated, it was left riddled with mines, unexploded ordnance, and booby traps. 

Military sappers inspect an area for mines and non-exploded shells left after Russia's invasion in Kyiv Region, Ukraine April 21, 2022.

REUTERS/Mykola Tymchenko

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in April 2022 that Russian soldiers retreating in the north at the time had left mines everywhere, creating a "complete disaster."

"They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed," he said in an address to the nation. "There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers."

'As much damage as they can'

Oleksandr, whose last name is intentionally being withheld for security reasons, joined Ukraine's State Special Transport Service, a unit under the command of the country's defense ministry, last fall and only had a few months of training before he started demining activities earlier this year — a quick turnaround given the scale of the problem.

Humanitarian demining means clearing explosives from areas where active combat has ceased — like areas in northern Ukraine — so that the local population can sooner return to their normal lives, or as close to normal as possible under the circumstances. This includes demining of critical transportation infrastructure, like railways, bridges, highways, and roads, and even nuclear facilities. 

A sapper of the State Emergency Service inspects an area for mines and unexploded shells, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine March 21, 2023.

REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi

Speaking through a translator, Oleksandr detailed to Insider how his team carries out demining and the life-threatening challenges of his job. 

The demining process begins with the sappers talking to locals to understand the extent of the contamination and if they're dealing with Russian land mines or unexploded artillery shells.

Once the sappers have this information, they move to a more technical step, which is flying drones to map unexploded ordnance on the surface. After this, the sappers start manually clearing the area with metal detectors and other equipment. Oleksandr said the crucial element in this process is to not be in a hurry and always be mindful of what's happening.

Mines come in all different shapes, sizes, and lethality. Some explosives are placed in the ground and are designed to be triggered by armored vehicles or infantry soldiers, either by a pressure plate or trip wire, while others can be deployed from a distance through aircraft or artillery and may detonate without actually being touched. 

A sapper of the State Emergency Service carries an anti-tank mine as he inspects an area for mines and unexploded shells, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine March 21, 2023.

REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi

One particularly deadly Russian mining tactic in northern Ukraine was the use of booby traps by Moscow's troops.

First Lieutenant Maksym Trykur, who serves in the State Special Transport Service and translated Oleksandr's comments, told Insider that Russia would plant these around everyday items, including toys, furniture, kitchen utensils, and plates. In some cases, refrigerators were rigged to blow when opened. Oleksandr also witnessed the Russians place explosives in children's books. 

"It doesn't provide any tactical advantage," Trykur said. "That's just trying to cause as much damage as they can."

Oleksandr returned from his latest mission just under two weeks ago, where he was helping to clear the area around a railroad bridge so it was safe for civilian construction workers to rebuild parts that were destroyed during active combat. This type of work underscores why the extensive mining is such a big challenge.

Mining prevents the community from resuming their lives long after active combat is over, Trykur said. Mines in a field might detonate with children playing near them, and explosives left on the road could pose a supply or logistics issue, delaying stuff like medication, food, and postal service deliveries. 

A police sapper sorts unexploded mine shells and weapons after return from the village of Udy, after it was liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in the Kharkiv region on September 12, 2022.

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

But the issue has global implications as well, he added. Ukraine, often referred to as Europe's breadbasket, is a crucial supplier of grain to the rest of the world, including countries in Africa and the Middle East. Mine contamination threatens the ability for farmers to actually grow their food, threatening to create a far-reaching crises. 

It's a problem that will stay with Ukraine for years because Russia has contaminated the country on such a massive scale, Oleksandr said. And Kyiv's sappers also lack some of the equipment necessary to be able to tackle such an immense problem, meaning they are more reliant on physical manpower.

Much of the support Ukraine is receiving is focused on front-line combat. The US has provided upwards of $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion last year, including mine-clearing equipment and mine-resistant armored vehicles. But more is needed both on the lines and behind them.

Milley, the top US general, said last month in the context of Ukraine's counteroffensive that the country's Western military backers still need to provide more support to help get rid of these death traps.

"So the key thing is to focus on air defense, focus on the blocking-and-tackling sort of offensive combined arms maneuver, which is artillery, as both long-range and short-range artillery, and then get in your engineers and your mine-breaching equipment," he said. "That's the kind of stuff they need. That's what they want. That's what they're asking for."

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