Russia has turned Ukraine into 'mine contaminated’ territory: Zelenskyy

By Meiramgul Kussainova

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) – Ukraine’s president on Monday blamed Russian troops for planting mines while they were withdrawing from the northern side of the country and asked for this act to be considered a “war crime.”

“Due to the actions of the Russian army, our territory is currently one of the most contaminated by mines in the world. And I believe this should also be considered a war crime of Russian troops,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video message.

Zelenskyy said mine clearance was ongoing in the northern regions of Ukraine where Russian troops were “expelled.”

“Russian troops left behind tens if not hundreds of thousands of dangerous objects. These are shells that did not explode, mines, tripwire mines. At least several thousand such items are disposed of daily,” he said.

“The occupiers left mines everywhere -- in the houses they seized, on the streets, in the fields. They mined people's property, mined cars, doors.

“They consciously did everything to make the return to these areas after deoccupation as dangerous as possible,” he added.

The Ukrainian president said that Russians “deliberately did everything to kill or maim as many of our people as possible, even when they were forced to withdraw from our land. Without the appropriate orders, they would not have done it.”

Noting that Russia already made a statement about the possible “use (of) chemical weapons against the defenders of Mariupol,” he said: “We take this as seriously as possible.”

“I want to remind the world leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the Russian military has already been discussed. And already at that time it meant that it was necessary to react to the Russian aggression much tougher and faster,” he added.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global companies from Russia.

At least 1,842 civilians have been killed and 2,493 injured in Ukraine since Russia declared war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

Over 4.5 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.​​​​