«5 cows blew up here»: a resident of Snihurivka grazes cows on a minefield

Bohdan Reshetniak, a resident of Snigurivka. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

Boldan Reshetniak, a 72-year-old resident of Snihurivka, despite the fear of encountering an unexploded shell, grazes cows on a mined field on the outskirts of the city.

The man told NikVesti why he has to risk his life.

According to the man, the pyrotechnicians worked on this area, but they did not give a 100% guarantee that the field is safe. Despite this, with the onset of warm weather, Bohdan Reshetniak has to write off his livestock, because he was unable to prepare enough food for the cows also due to mining.

«There is no 100% guarantee, because after the war, mines are still being found for 100 years, well, yes, the sappers went around, demined, but they said that it is still not desirable,» said the man.

According to him, this is the only more or less safe place for cattle grazing, all other fields in the district remain mined. But even here recently, the neighbor's cows were blown up.

«We have already had 5 cows blown up here. We were sitting here playing cards, the cows went a little further into the field, we just heard an explosion, and that was it. These were my neighbor's cows,» said Bohdan Reshetniak.

He also said that after de-occupation he found about 50-60 explosive devices in Snihurivka. But the man assures that he knows how to behave properly in such situations.

«I have a phone number, I immediately put down my stick, don't get too close and call the emergency services,» said the man.

It should be noted that the Snihurivka territorial community is the territory of the Mykolaiv region most littered with explosive objects. Today, the community has 10,000 hectares of land in need of survey and further demining.

Read the article by NikVesti about the residents of the community who were blown up by landmines «I have no legs, how will I walk": the story of two brothers from the Mykolaiv region who survived after being blown up by landmines.

Also, NikVesti explained what mines are and how to act if you find a suspicious object.

How many Ukrainians were affected by mines?

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, over two years, 610 people were injured, 277 were killed during the detonation of mines and other explosive objects. 14 children were among those killed by mines. Most of the victims were in the Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkiv regions.

Last year, 2023, 17 people, including one child, died in the Mykolaiv Oblast due to the detonation of ammunition. According to the calculations of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (ESES), there were a total of 57 cases of detonation of the civilian population by landmines last year.

On November 24, 2022, a case of mine detonation was recorded in the de-occupied Snigurivska community in the Mykolayiv region. Employees of the State Emergency Service were killed and wounded.

On December 15, 2022, a man found two anti-personnel mines left behind by the Russian military in one of the villages of Snihurivka region. The shells were detonated. A 26-year-old man died on the spot. Subsequently, on April 22, 2022, in the town of Snihurivka, near the former mineral water plant, two residents of the community were blown up by an anti-personnel mine.

On September 20, 2023, a car carrying two men was blown up by a mine in Snihurivka. One of them died on the spot, the second man was hospitalized. Later, on October 11, a combine exploded on a mine in a field near the town of Snigurivka. The driver was injured as a result of the explosion and is in the hospital.

Also, on February 1, 2024 , four people were detonated by a mine near the village of Yevgenivka in the Mykolaiv region. On March 5, 2024 , a 38-year-old man blew himself up in the village of Bezimenne, Snihurivka community, Bashtanka district.

We would like to remind you that on March 12, 2024, an interactive safety class was opened at the base of the Department of Emergency Situations in the Mykolaiv region, where children will be taught the rules of handling explosive objects.

Earlier, in August 2023, Mykolaiv rescuers created a mobile mine safety class, which works in various settlements of the region. It was created to minimize risks and reach as many residents of the region as possible, especially in the de-occupied territories or in settlements where active hostilities were taking place.