Two guys who were dipping their toes in the sea on a beach in Odesa, Ukraine, were allegedly murdered when a landmine exploded underneath them.
According to a Telegram group that released CCTV video yesterday, two more beachgoers were hurt in the explosion in the Black Sea coastal town.
Xydessa writes, “Today, a mine explosion happened, resulting in two deaths and two injuries.”
Authorities in Odessa warned locals not to swim in the seas around the war-torn port city, and even closed the beaches this summer out of fear of Russian bombings on crowds.
In June, another landmine exploded on an Odessa beach, killing a father in front of his frightened family.
The fifty-year-old guy from Donetsk was instantaneously murdered when he stepped on the mine.
Regional officials issued the following warning: “Police advise inhabitants and visitors of the Odessa area to firmly adhere to martial law.” Do not enter the Black Waters’s coastline protection zone and do not swim in the mined sea.
An explosion of an unknown item killed a 50-year-old man in front of his wife, kid, and friend while he was swimming in the water in one of the Odesa district’s villages. The victim’s companion was miraculously unharmed since he went swimming with him. Again, a rigorous restriction on visiting the seaside and swimming in the ocean are life-threatening security measures if disregarded.
Human Rights Watch believes that thousands of Russian landmines have been planted in Ukraine since the Russian invasion at the end of February, especially in the population centers of Kiev, Kharkiv, Sumy, and the Donbas.
Some are triggered by touch while others detonate at random, presenting a considerable hazard to humans.
Despite Ukraine’s membership in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, Russia has not signed the accord.
The Biden administration launched a $89 million (£74 million) financing package to remove Ukraine of landmines this week, after promising in June to address their “devastating consequences.”
This will pay for 100 de-mining teams throughout the nation over the course of the next year, as well as teaching Ukrainians on how to dispose of the dangerous devices securely.
An official said, “As Russian soldiers withdrew from Northern Ukraine, they placed booby traps and improvised explosive devices in food storage facilities, automobile trunks, washing machines, entrances, hospital beds, and even on the corpses of invaders.”
We anticipate this to be one of the most significant land mine and unexploded ordnance issues in decades.
Ukraine has accused Russia of using the naval mines as “uncontrolled floating munitions” with the intention of disrupting trade and food supply.
In 2020, a Russian ambassador told the UN General Assembly that Moscow “shares the aims of the convention and favors a world free of landmines,” but viewed landmines as “an efficient means of securing Russia’s borders.”
Human Rights Watch has found “no reliable evidence” to corroborate Russia’s claim that Ukraine planted landmines in its own cities and villages.