269 civilians killed in land mine blasts in Donbas since start of Russian aggression

"Since the beginning of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 833 civilians have suffered from the blast of mines and explosive remnants of war: 269 people died, 564 people were injured. Out of this number, 27 children died and another 98 were injured," Colonel Maksym Komissarov, the head of the environmental safety and mine action department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said at a briefing dedicated to the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He specified that 1,032 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have suffered from mine and explosive device blasts, 228 of them died.

To date, about 16,000 sq km of the territory of Ukraine is considered to be contaminated with explosives, the representative of the Ministry noted.

On December 6, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law "On Mine Action in Ukraine."

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