Ukrainian soldiers have an extensive job ahead of them when it comes to clearing mines in the areas previously occupied by Russia. According to Major Roger Djupsjö, there are challenges both in terms of the technology and the scope.
– Most of the time it is tanks with a demining unit that trigger the mines, but the problem is that the units cannot withstand so many collisions. Eventually they break and have to be repaired – something that obviously takes time, he tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Roger Djupsjö explains that there are many different ways to clear mines, but that armored vehicles such as tanks are often used. A challenge for the Ukrainian soldiers is that Russia knows that the country has a limited number of vehicles that can clear mines, he believes.
– You know that they have a limited amount on the other side and you try to knock them out as quickly as you can at all because that is the way you can defend the mining from the Russian side, he says.
Another challenge is the size of the minefields.
– It seems that these minefields are large. There are not mines everywhere, but you never know exactly where they are, which means that you have to use the demining vehicles with great care, he says.
Clearing is required in several places
Another challenge for the Ukrainian army is that you cannot simply clear a passage in a mined field, because that passage would then be too easy for Russia to defend.
In order for Ukraine to be able to move forward with the offensive, it is necessary to clear several passageways at the same time, says Roger Djupsjö.
– And that also takes time, he says.
Even land drones have limitations
In addition to tanks, Ukraine also uses land-based drones to search for mines in the ground. But even though soldiers do not have to risk their lives, Roger Djupsjö believes that even this technology has its limitations.
– Without knowing exactly how much a land drone can withstand, it is technology that probably cannot withstand any number of mine detonations either – which means that the drones break.