- Title: Ukraine dam collapse likely shifted huge numbers of mines - analyst
- Date: 8th June 2023
- Summary: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 8, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL RESEARCH OFFICER FOR HALO TRUST, ANDRO MATHEWSON, SAYING: "It's most of the southern reaches of the Mikolayiv Oblast where Halo's working and obviously so that's the northern bank of the Dnipro River and both sides of the Inhulets River which feeds into the Dnipro from north to south. Comparable sizes - it's difficult to say, but probably, you know about the size of Greater London, I think is a good comparative area."
- Embargoed: 22nd June 2023 12:40
- Keywords: Dam Mines Ukraine War
- Location: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ MIKOLAYIV REGION, UKRAINE
- City: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ MIKOLAYIV REGION, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA004844608062023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Alongside flooding, Ukrainians also face the risk of mines moving following the destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on the front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces on Thursday (June 8), according to demining organisation Halo.
Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Kyiv blamed each other for the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station and dam, which unleashed flood water from the Dnipro River.
Andro Mathewson, a global research officer at Halo, said his team uncovered 5,000 mines in the Mikolayiv region in the last month alone, likely a fraction of the total amount of unexploded ordnance embedded in the area.
These are now at risk of moving due to the flooding, meaning previously mapped areas would need to be remapped.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that it was impossible to predict how many people would die in Russian-occupied areas due to the flooding, urging a "clear and rapid reaction from the world" to support victims.
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