The State Emergency Service explained why the people of Mykolaiv cannot involve their own dogs in mine detection training

A sapper dog, which kneads the Mykolaiv region. Nikvesti's photo

Oleksandr Zhurid, the head of the department of special mine-detection works of the State Emergency Service of the Mykolaiv region, explained why the city's residents cannot involve their own dogs in training to search for explosive objects in order to participate in demining of the Mykolaiv region.

This is stated in the article by NikVesti «A dog risks his life more than a man», how Alf and Quad search for mines in the fields of Mykolaiv Region».

Demining dogs, which are currently working in the Mykolaiv region, were donated by a Norwegian organization engaged in humanitarian demining. The Belgian shepherd dogs came to Ukraine already trained according to a special technique, which Ukrainian rescuers do not have.

«In 2022, we went to Bosnia and were told about this technique, it was completely foreign to us, we did not understand how to cook these dogs,» explained Oleksandr Zhurid.

On average, a dog's training lasts a year, but the head of the department noted that not every dog can go to training. The dog must undergo testing and receive accreditation — it is granted only by the State Emergency Service.

«That is, you can't take an ordinary dog from the street, which has even been trained somewhere. This is a very painstaking work that lasts a year and should be done by an experienced professional. We don't have people who can teach a dog to look for mines and explosive objects in the fields according to the method we work with. We are just learning this technique. Also, according to the governing documents, we cannot take a dog from Mykolaiv and train it. The dogs that work for us are on staff,» added Oleksandr Zhurid..

Oleksandr Zhuryd, head of the special mine-reconnaissance department. Nikvesti's photo

How is the demining of the Mykolaiv Oblast going on?

Ukraine recently updated the country's priority demining plan. According to it, more than 512,000 hectares of agricultural land are subject to priority demining, of which 44,000 hectares are in the Mykolaiv region.

As of December 2023, 30% of the territory of the Mykolaiv region has been mined. In total, this is 754 thousand hectares of land.

At the same time, they are working on demining in the region. For example, as of October 2023, 13 thousand 40 hectares have been demined in the Mykolaiv region, including 9 thousand 25 hectares of agricultural land.

The author of the project «Ukraine's World Inside Out» Dmytro Komarov visited the mined territories of the Mykolaiv Oblast and showed the work of local sappers. NikVesti also told about a farmer from Kyselivka who is trying to demine his fields on his own.

About 30,000-35,000 hectares of land remain mined in the Bashtanka district of the Mykolaiv region, part of which was under occupation. And in the village of Maksymivka of the Pervomaisk community of the Mykolaiv region, locals live with an unexploded shell under the foundation of the house.

In Maksymivka, the demining situation is now critical. A year after liberation from the Russian occupiers, only 40% of the village was demined.

Read also the article NikVesti «Decades are needed: How the demining process of the Mykolaiv region continues».

It is known that the company Demining of Ukraine has developed a device capable of demining the Mykolaiv region within three months.

Also, units of the Corps of deminers are already working in the Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkiv regions.

Also read the article NikVesti «How mechanized demining machines clear fields of mines in the de-occupied Mykolaiv Oblast».