Divers-miners showed how they demine the water areas of Mykolaiv Oblast

The Mykolayiv region has been on the list of combat zones since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and for more than two years now. The region is considered one of the most mined in Ukraine. Many dangers in the form of various types of munitions today hide the reservoirs of the region.

NikVesti asked the sappers of the State Emergency Service in the Mykolaiv region about the peculiarities of demining water areas.

Volodymyr Buzun works as a diver-sapper, he is the one who performs the most dangerous job among his team — looking for mines under water. A man works with a special underwater metal detector. It can be under water for up to three hours.

«When I go underwater, I take an underwater metal detector with me. Work under water can last 2-3 hours as long as there is air in the cylinder,» says the miner.

When the sappers leave for demining, there is a lifeguard in the boat with the main sapper diver.

«In the event that a diver becomes ill, the second diver goes to help him. In the boat there is also a motorman, a support diver who provides for others,» said Volodymyr Buzun.

According to the State Emergency Service, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, pyrotechnic and diving teams have removed 149 explosive objects from the reservoirs of the Mykolaiv region. Since the beginning of 2024, sappers and divers have examined 3.11 hectares of water areas and destroyed 8 munitions.

«Most often we find TM-62 under water, it is an anti-tank mine, there were a lot of them in Sniрurivka. There were cluster munitions, it was very difficult to extract them from the water, they had to be detonated under water. Cluster munitions are the most difficult to eliminate, they are very dangerous and can detonate at any moment,» said Volodymyr Buzun.

The head of the department for underwater demining, Volodymyr Kozyrev, told how the work of sapper divers differs from the work of pyrotechnic calculations working «on the ground».

«The survey of the water area takes place when people have found GNP in the water or seen that something once fell there. We receive an application or a request for demining,» he said.

If the weather permits, first of all, pyrotechnicians survey the area with the help of drones, after which divers begin work.

After the sappers have found the GNP, it is given a classification. Ammunition is either destroyed in water or, if possible, transported to an explosives storage facility.

«We are also involved in the inspection of beaches in those places where there was no shelling and the territory was not occupied, so that people could rest in the warm season,» said Volodymyr Kozyrev.

The work of sapper divers in the Mykolaiv region was complicated by the Russians' detonation of the Kakhovska HPP on June 6, 2023.

«During the detonation of the Kakhovska HPP, we were just conducting an inspection of the water area. We have almost finished the area we planned to demine. After the detonation, we had to start a re-survey because the water level rose and the high current brought new GNPs to the shore,» recalled the head of the water demining department.

He also reminded the residents of the Mykolaiv region how to behave properly if they come across an explosive object near or in water.

«If you are near the water area and have found or seen something that looks like an explosive object, in no case try to remove it yourself. Immediately move to a safe distance, call 101 and warn people who are near you near the water area,» stressed Volodymyr Kozyrev.

According to the State Emergency Service, today there are 10 pyrotechnic units operating in the Mykolayiv region, which are engaged in demining «on the ground» and one diving unit. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, sapper divers have surveyed and demined 28.4 hectares of water areas in the region.