14/07/2022 Ucraina (Україна), Oblast’ di Odessa (Одеська область-Odes’ka oblast’), Odessa (Одеса)
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law enforcement agency for assistance”
On 11 June, a 50-year-old man entered the calm waters from a beach in the Ukrainian city of Odesa. Every weekend in the summer, he took a dip in the shallow sea and searched for sea snails, a local delicacy. But on this occasion, he was not to return. A mine exploded, killing him instantly, as his family watched on in horror. The Black Sea is infested with hundreds of mines dropped by both sides in Russia’s war on Ukraine, posing a serious threat to people and the reopening of the grain shipping routes halted by Moscow’s sea blockade. Image of a ship with a montage of wheat, a map and shipping routes behind it. The Black Sea blockade: mapping the impact of war in Ukraine on the world’s food supply – interactive “It’s truly a big problem,” said Vladlen Tobak, a former Ukrainian navy diving instructor and the founder of a diving school in Odesa. “These mines are there with other unexploded devices from the second world war, which we continue to find. The main concern is that we don’t know how many mines were dropped during the naval blockade. It will take a long time to clear the waters of these devices.” Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for dropping mines in the Black Sea. The extent of the mining operations remains unknown, but Sergey Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa regional military administration, says between 400 and 600 mines were thrown into Ukraine’s sea zone by Russia. In March, Russia’s defence ministry and state security agency, the FSB, warned against “floating Ukrainian mines off the coast of Odesa”, which had reportedly come adrift after a storm. According to Moscow, the Russian military has mapped out about 370 Ukrainian sea mines. Sea mines, designed to explode when the hull of a vessel comes into contact with them, are anchored to a steel cable to keep them under water. However, they can come loose in storms and drift long distances in sea currents.
Недбале поводження зі зброєю та вибуховими пристроями, які перебувають у незаконному обігу, продовжує щодня забирати життя наших громадян», – тоді написав у Facebook заступник голови Національної поліції України В’ячеслав Аброськін
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, raising awerness about this topic is what drives us. We apologize if we make use of pictures in yours articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We will (and we always do) cite source and author of the picture. We thank you for your comprehension.
