Ukrainian farmers, not wanting to leave their fields idle, often risking their own lives, leave for agricultural work, risking their lives. Sad statistics indicate 245 victims since the beginning of the war.
Farmer Petro Berezyuk from the village of Vovchanski Khutory, which is located in the Vovchanska urban community of the Chuguyiv district of the Kharkiv region, showed the conditions in which people work – the KAB lies right on the field:
Peter also points to another problem – the lack of people. Currently, tractor drivers and combine harvesters are in demand at the front. Unfortunately, such specialists die in the performance of their duties. Thus, in May 2024, a 32-year-old combine harvester died in the Vovchan region during the construction of fortifications. The transport was hit by an enemy projectile, and the driver was burned on the spot.
In addition, farmers say that the lack of professional sappers has led to the appearance of pseudo-displacers. There are cases when they hire “miners” without a license in order to save money. Such pseudo sappers make money from farmers, while the fields remain unmined, so the villagers are blown up and killed during the work.
In the current situation, Ukrainian farmers show great creativity and real miracles of technology. For example, Oleksandr Kryvtsun, the head of an agricultural enterprise from the village of Grakove in the Kharkiv region, used an infantry vehicle thrown by the Russians, equipped it with metal and installed radio control for security. Oleksandr thanks the sappers for the work done, because 260 mines have already been defused, but the man understands that the specialists have a lot of work to do in the area of power transmission lines and gas pipelines. So, such help from the farmer makes sense, although the sappers do not approve of such actions by civilians.
“Our village was the most affected in the Chuguyiv district, and all the people, all 400 people, are my sharecroppers. If I don’t sow the fields, I won’t pay them, and people will be left without means of livelihood.” – says Oleksandr.
But Oleg Girman, a tractor-sweeper from the village of Yavirsky, Izyum district, suffered a bitter fate. On the fifth trip to inspect a mined field, the technician ran into a mine and exploded. Yuriy Shevtsov, a mechanic and Oleg’s roommate, shows the scars on his leg and tells how he was blown up by a TM-62 in March 2023.
“Each time we detonate, we learn something new and improve. Demining tractors are a good alternative for speeding up the demining process.
The tractor burned down, even though the person was unharmed. However, it is worth taking into account the fact that the car can miss a mine or trample it deeper, which can lead to new tragedies.” – says Oleg.
Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravainy explained that the speed of cleaning the territory will depend on the level of pollution and the priority of use. And since the central government does not always understand the nuances of priority, local communities should cooperate with the government in determining such territories. This will make it possible to speed up the demining process.
