Summary and Key Points: Ukraine is now one of the most heavily mined countries on earth. Current U.S. and international estimates put contaminated territory at approximately 139,000 square kilometers — more than a fifth of Ukraine, larger than Greece, and roughly the size of North Carolina.
-The mines include antipersonnel mines, anti-tank mines, cluster munitions, unexploded artillery shells, drone-dropped munitions, and booby traps.
-One estimate has put the cost to Ukraine at more than $11 billion in lost annual GDP. The World Bank and other groups estimate demining and recovery will cost more than $35 billion.
-Ukraine is using drones, satellite imagery, AI-assisted mapping, and remotely controlled clearance vehicles to speed the work.
Ukraine: The Minefield Nation Thanks to Putin’s War
Buk-M2E Air Defense from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Ukraine today is one of the world’s most heavily mined countries. The scale of the mining there beggars the imagination, but current estimates from the US and other organizations put the size of contaminated territory at about 139,000 square kilometers, or more than a fifth of Ukraine. For comparison, that is an area larger than Greece, or roughly the size of the state of North Carolina.
But Ukraine’s contamination problem is not limited just to antipersonnel mines. Anti-tank mines, cluster munition pieces, dud artillery shells, booby traps, unexploded rockets, drone-dropped munitions, and discarded ammunition pose problems as well. In some regions closer to the front, or in areas that were occupied, retreating Russian forces mined roads, tree lines, bridges, canals, and farms, and large belts of land mines were placed throughout the war to slow offensives, particularly in Ukraine’s south and east.
Location, Location, Location
The impact of mines on agriculture has been significant.
Ukraine has some of the most productive farmland in the world, and its black soil belt is among the richest agricultural regions worldwide. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat, corn, sunflower oil, barley, and other crops. Now, much of Ukraine’s fields cannot be worked safely, and some farmers have been killed driving tractors into mines or by accidentally disturbing unexploded shells while tending to fields.
The economic consequences are profound.
Some of Ukraine’s agricultural land is currently unusable, while other areas can only be partially cultivated due to nearby dangers. Consequently, equipment is destroyed, export volumes fall, and some areas of Ukraine lose their economic base. One estimate concluded that land mine contamination has cost Ukraine more than $11 billion in lost annual GDP.
Repairs and Demining
The damage to the country goes beyond just agriculture. Land mines seriously complicated reconstruction efforts. Repair crews cannot safely reach critical infrastructure, such as power lines or pipelines.
The forest becomes inaccessible, and tourism evaporates. Construction projects stall because land surveys cannot be conducted. Even the wildlife changes, animals can trigger explosives, and native populations fill areas formerly occupied by humans.
In some ways, the situation in Ukraine parallels that of Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia following those countries’ decades of conflict. Vietnam still deals with unexploded American ordnance half a century later, and farmers there still uncover unexploded bombs while digging or planting crops.
Entire generations in the country came of age, treating unexploded munitions as part of the landscape, as constant as trees or rain.
Even today, clearance and demolition teams remove unexploded munitions dropped in the 1960s and 1970s.
Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
But there are key differences too. Vietnam’s contamination was spread over years of aerial bombing and jungle warfare.
Ukraine’s mined areas are unusually dense and concentrated in frontline belts. Much of it sits on industrial farmland that the country needs for its economic survival. Ukraine is also far more mechanized agriculturally than Vietnam was after the conclusion of hostilities.
Another crucial difference is technological. Ukraine is trying to build what may become the most advanced, defining ecosystem ever.
The country is using drones, satellite imagery, AI-assisted mapping, remotely controlled clearance vehicles, digital reporting systems, and large-scale geospatial databases to identify dangerous areas faster.
It will be a costly endeavor, however. Cost estimates from the World Bank and other groups have suggested figures above $35 billion for mine action and associated recovery work alone.
But even after clearance, formerly contaminated land might need rehabilitation — cleared land does not necessarily return to productivity. Explosions can compact soil, disrupt drainage, leave craters across fields, and spread heavy metals and explosive residue.
Successfully defining in Ukraine will likely require several things to happen simultaneously over several decades.
Massive international financing, industrial-scale production of clearance equipment, long-term training, and large numbers of defining personnel would be needed to clear farmland and important conic corridors. More remote areas and former frontlines could remain dangerous for years.
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About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines in the Donbas and writing about its civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
