All news

Continuous demining efforts needed at Ukrainian-Belarusian border — Belarusian top brass

It is reported that Belarusian military engineers are actively studying the experience of using different types of ammunition during Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine

MINSK, August 16. /TASS/. Demining the Ukrainian territory along the border with Belarus will require continuous clearing of the area, which will be a lengthy, time-consuming process, Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Girilyuk, head of the Belarusian Armed Forces’ Mine Control Center, said.

"In my opinion, it will require a continuous clearing of the area, and this will be a lengthy period of time that will drag on indefinitely. The clearing of the area includes a complete inspection of the area to a depth of 15 centimeters for the presence of explosive objects," he said.

In early August, Ukrainian Joint Forces Commander Sergey Nayev said that the Ukrainians had laid "tens of thousands of mines" in the areas bordering Belarus. The length of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border is 1,084 kilometers. Kiev regularly announces measures to strengthen the Ukrainian-Belarusian border by installing mine barriers, building fortifications and destroying roads.

Girilyuk said that Belarusian military engineers are actively studying the experience of using different types of ammunition during Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. "Since its establishment [in November 2019], the [Mine Control Center] has been analyzing the situation around the country, as well as nearby. <...> Since the beginning of the special military operation, the most attention has been paid to examples and ways of using technical ammunition, as well as improvised explosive devices during various combat operations. The Center's employees monitor the situation in Ukraine on a daily basis and prepare brief reports, which are then used in training of the armed forces," the defense official said.

Earlier, Colonel Andrey Kurakov, head of Belarusian Engineering Troops, reported that in 2022 the country’s military engineers neutralized more than 20,500 explosives.