The russian invasion has turned Ukraine into a huge minefield. About 156,000 km² needs to be examined and demined. This is an area the size of Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic combined, or the state of Georgia in the United States!
Anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, booby traps, tripwires, cluster munitions and thousands of undetonated shells are found in the de-occupied territories after russian shelling. Deadly explosives can be hidden in household items, toys, houses, kindergartens, playgrounds, fields, forests and parks.
In 2023, our ambassador Misha Collins visited Ukraine and saw first-hand the work of deminers in Chernihiv Oblast and a mined forest near Irpin in Kyiv Oblast, just 26 kilometers from the capital. The actor was amazed by the scale of the problem and launched a fundraiser to help implement a humanitarian demining program and save thousands of lives.