Mine danger on Odesa coastline has not gone away, but only increased - Humeniuk

There have been many cases of explosion of drifting mines in the sea near Odesa coastline.

Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Operational Command South, said this in at a briefing at Media Center Ukraine – Odesa, Ukrinform reports.

"The mine danger has not gone away. Unfortunately, it only increased. As a result of the flooding caused by the Kakhovka HPP blast, the flow of water brought many ‘dangerous surprises’. Part of what the big water brought is still floating, or lies at the bottom and may have been lifted by storms," Humeniuk explained.

According to her, since the beginning of 2023, 32 mines have exploded in the Black Sea off the coast near Odesa and Mykolaiv regions has been recorded. Currently, river mines have also entered the Black Sea waters.

"It is very difficult to count the number of such river mines that exploded, but two cases have already been recorded. In other words, they were spotted by observation posts, these are arbitrary explosions of mines," Humeniuk said.

As reported by Ukrinform, it is possible to protect the beaches in Odesa region from drifting mines. For this, it is necessary to set up a special fence boom and nets so that potentially explosive objects do not reach the already checked coastal area.