Since 2014, the British bomb disposal expert has scoured the war-ravaged country defusing unexploded ordnance.
But he is under no illusions as to the scale of the clear-up operation still required in the world’s most heavily mined country.
“It’s a mess. It’s going to take 100-plus years. Some of these places, they’re not going to be able to be done mechanically. It’s going to have to be done by hand,” he told The i Paper.
Chris Garrett first came to Ukraine in 2014 and has been helping to clear unexploded munitions from the battlefield (Photo: bring_me_the_swampy/Instagram)The British bomb disposal expert fears up to 10 million landmines could be scattered across Ukraine (Photo: bring_me_the_swampy/Instagram)“There’s just the sheer volume of unexploded ordnance and landmines in the ground and the complexity of it.”
Sir Keir Starmer has hinted ceasefire plans have moved into an operational phase with planners meeting earlier this month with options of a 30,000-strong international force being deployed to Ukraine.
But Mr Garrett, 40, a former tree surgeon from the Isle of Man, fears as many as 10 million may have been laid.
Garrett now works alongside Prevail, a group which trains soldiers and police in mine-clearing Garrett has helped defuse a range of explosives from tank and artillery shells to explosivesThe 40-year-old now works with non-governmental organisation Prevail, which, as well as clearing explosives, trains combat engineers and bomb disposal technicians, with around 3,000 taught by the Manxman.
In 2022, Mr Garrett helped clear around 50 tonnes of explosives from areas like Irpin and Bucha, the sites of Russian atrocities against civilians, and Hostomel, the airport near Kyiv, where Ukrainian forces repelled Moscow’s paratroopers in a fierce battle.
He described the current state of former front lines as a “mess” with a range of different landmines given to Ukraine as well as Russian explosives strewn across the landscape.
Garrett believes it could take more than 100 years to clear all the landmines in Ukraine (Photo: bring_me_the_swampy/Instatgram)Prevail also help evacuate civilian and military casualties to hospital“In some areas, because there’s been so much heavy fighting, there’s so much metal in the ground – fragmentation bullets, unexploded ordnance, blown-up vehicles – you can’t even use a metal detector.
Nate Vance, cousin of US Vice President JD Vance, was among the volunteers in his ordnance disposal team before the American joined Ukraine’s military to fight.
Garrett said Russian devices have become more sophisticated and smaller as the war has progressed (Photo: bring_me_the_swampy/Instatgram)“I don’t really plan on visiting the DNR [the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic] anytime soon anyway, and I’ve certainly got no holiday plans to Russia,” he said.
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With the war now in its fourth year, Russian devices have also become more sophisticated, with some explosives programmed on computers.
“And because of technology getting better, you can end up with devices that are not much larger than a matchbox.
Until 2023, he worked full-time on the front line supporting the Ukrainian military.
Finances are a problem, too, with the group unable to afford the $35,000 (£27,000) needed for a full-protection bomb suit.
“So now we’re just in normal body armour and whatever protective gear we need for that job.”
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Earlier this month, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia proposed exiting the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines as military threats to Nato member states bordering Russia and Belarus have “significantly increased”.
“It’s just slightly frustrating at times. We’re just talking such high numbers here now,” he added.
“Millions and millions and millions of items of munitions.”
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