Monastyrsky stated to The Associated Press on Friday, that the country would need Western support in order to complete the huge undertaking following the war.
“A large number of mines and shells have been fired at Ukraine. However, a significant portion have not exploded. They are still under the rubble and present a real danger,” Monastyrsky stated in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. It will take many years to disarm them.
To stop the Russians using landmines in key locations, the Ukrainian military has also planted unexploded Russian ordnance at bridges, airports, and other critical locations.
Monastyrsky stated to the AP that “we won’t have the ability to remove the mines off all that territory”, and asked his international partners and colleagues from both the United States and the European Union to prepare teams of experts to demine areas of combat and facilities that were under shelling.”
He noticed that the demining equipment of his ministry was still in Mariupol, which is a heavily shelled port city with 430,000 inhabitants.
Monastyrsky stated that 200 pieces of equipment were lost there.
Monastyrsky stated that fighting the flames from the constant Russian bombardment and airstrikes is one of the greatest challenges facing the Interior Ministry. Monastyrsky said that the country’s emergency services, which is overseen by the ministry, are facing severe shortages in personnel and equipment.
While trying to extinguish an unattended fire at a market, a firefighter was struck by lightning and killed in the Russian bombardment.
Monastyrsky also stated that both Mariupol and Kharkiv were destroyed by the Russian barrage.
Monastyrsky stated that Ukrainian emergency responders need more specialized vehicles as well as protective equipment.
He said, “The next days will exacerbate a humanitarian disaster in critical areas.” “It is true that civilian casualties exceed our military losses several times.”
Monastyrsky stated that the interior ministry was busy fighting Russian saboteurs who inundated Ukraine to attack bridges, gas pipelines, and other infrastructure facilities. He also said that many such groups had operated in Ukraine.
“We recognize that sabotage in war is a key weapon,” he stated, adding that Ukrainian forces have been able to identify Russian saboteurs through tracking their Russian cellphones. “We reacted instantly… by searching for locations where these phones had been detected and acted against them.”
Monastyrsky stated that Russian forces attempted to intimidate the Ukrainian police in occupied areas by visiting their homes, sometimes even placing explosives at their doors.
He said, “They are trying pressure people in occupied territories.”
The Russians were shocked by the massive protests that broke out in Berdyansk and Melitopol, Kherson, and other occupied Ukrainian towns. They expected to be welcomed home by native-Russian speakers, Monastyrsky stated.
He said, “They have faced civils who speak Russian but are for Ukraine.” They now realize they made a huge mistake.
