By Joseph Hammond
In ordinary times, Ukrainian farmer Oleksandr Kryvtsov would not be a viral celebrity. Krystov, frustrated by the fact that much of his farmland was contaminated with landmines, has taken matters into his own hands, turning his tractor into a remote-controlled demining vehicle. Videos and images of his light blue tractor demining fields near Hrakove, Ukraine went viral earlier this summer.
As the tide turns against Russia in its war against Ukraine, it is increasingly relying on massive fields of land mines to prevent Ukraine from liberating its territory. Today, an area roughly the size of Florida within Ukraine is contaminated. A large portion of those landmines are in prime agricultural land whose continued presence is a hindrance to investment, food security, and a continuing endangerment to human life.
Ukraine has an ambitious plan to is increasingly turning its attention to the challenge of de-mining large swathes of the country to resume agriculture production, with ambitious plans to de-mine at least the most valuable 470,000 hectares of agricultural land over the next four years. But by some estimates, landmines will lay dormant there for decades, if not centuries.
The scale of the problem cannot be underestimated. But another post-Soviet country, which has been breaking new ground in the face of a seemingly insurmountable landmine problem, could provide part of the solution.
Source: Forbes