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DPR starts clearing Donbass from unexploded shells and mines

Donbass is literally stuffed with unexploded shells, which pose a lethal threat to civilians, the commander of the mine sweeping brigade of the Vostok battalion says

DONETSK, September 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) are using the current truce and ceasefire as a chance to clear its territory from unexploded shells and bombs, commander of a DPR mine sweeping brigade said on Thursday.

“The Ukrainian army has been shelling Donbass ever since the security operation started in April. As a result, the Donbass land is literally stuffed with unexploded shells, which are posing a lethal threat to civilians,” the commander of the mine sweeping brigade of the Vostok battalion, a unit in the DPR army, said.

Mine pickers have to respond to at least 20 calls a day. “The biggest number of calls - 36 - has occurred in the past few days. We make about 20 rides on average. As a rule, we defuse unexploded GRAD rockets,” the commander said.

Representatives of the Kiev authorities, the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Russia attended a meeting of the Contact Group for Ukrainian settlement in Minsk on September 5. They adopted a ceasefire protocol and a peaceful settlement plan.