VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Blinken Focuses on Mine Clearing in Ukraine as U.S. Lays Groundwork for Life After War” – WSJ

“Mines have hindered Kyiv’s counteroffensive and threaten civilians living in reclaimed areas; as much as a third of the country affected.”

“[In] painstakingly slow [work,] [t]wo explosives specialists armed with metal detectors can take over a month to clear a plot of Ukrainian farmland around half the size of a football field riddled with mortars, artillery shells and unexploded fuses. … Returning the land to its prewar state [reportedly] could take years …. Kyiv estimates … around 67,000 square miles[,] … just under a third of the total land area[,] may contain explosive hazards and, of that, about 9,600 square miles is farmland. … Demining will be crucial as Ukraine looks to restore its agricultural land to contribute to international food security …. [R]oads, electricity lines, residential and recreational areas also need clearing of mines. …”

The Ukrainian state emergency service indicates that over 700 experts and 200 pieces of equipment are deployed daily to address mines and other explosive objects.  They reportedly already have inspected roughly 359 square miles of land and 29 square miles of water, disabling 427,000 explosive objects.

Meanwhile, the latest U.S. aid package for Ukraine includes high-velocity depleted uranium rounds, capable of penetrating frontal armor of Russian tanks from a distance. The rounds are regularly utilized by the U.S. Army.

Click here for: “Blinken Focuses on Mine Clearing in Ukraine as U.S. Lays Groundwork for Life After War; Mines have hindered Kyiv’s counteroffensive and threaten civilians living in reclaimed areas; as much as a third of the country affected” – Wall Street Journal/ William Mauldin

[featured image is file photo from another occasion]