Sappers return Lugansk to peaceful life
Natalia Maksimets, journalist, deputy of the Lugansk City Council
Photo by Konstantin Machulsky
The war has retreated to borders far from Lugansk. But for the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the busy season continues - the time to collect the deadly “harvest”. Everything that whistled, flew, exploded over the city and the surrounding area, everything that was preparing for destructive blows - all this must be collected and neutralized.
We set off along the route Metallist-Stukalova Balka-Bolshaya Vergunka.
Before entering the danger zone, we are dressed in body armor - they are heavy and uncomfortable.
“You got a beautiful one, matching the color of your dress and eyes,” my male companions console, helping me fasten the blue chain mail.
We pass the checkpoint in front of Metalist. The ground around is disfigured by craters - all summer, Ukrainian troops furiously poured fire on this patch, where the defenders of Lugansk no less fiercely held the line to prevent the enemy from entering Lugansk. We see a piece of land covered with flowers - journalists from the film crew of the Russian Channel One died here. In Metalist - failures in buildings, roofs, houses.
The sides of the road to Stukalova Balka are completely strewn with shells and shrapnel. And the road itself is unrecognizable. Smooth, even, cheerful from the dividing lawn, novice car enthusiasts (including me two years ago) happily honed their driving skills on it - now these are rare islands of asphalt, a crumpled, torn, barely discernible silhouette of the lawn, outskirts shiny with metal. Here and there, former enemy firing points gnawed into the fields. A direct hit destroyed them. Stocks of shells scattered around. In addition, there are dozens of boxes with dangerous contents in abandoned positions. There is a lot of work for rescuers here.
– Some ammunition has been disassembled, some is intact. The probability of rupture is not even determined. Maybe from a touch, or maybe lie in the sun and explode. It is very difficult to determine. They need to be collected and transported to a safe place for disposal,” explains Alexander Drobot, head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Pyrotechnicians collect the ammunition and place it in the back of the truck. After them, military sappers will get to work.
Bolshaya Vergunka changed hands several times during the fighting. A charred armored personnel carrier stood frozen on the side of the road near the bus stop. On the twisted sides there are bright spots of wreaths and bouquets: the militia died here. A few tens of meters away there is a dilapidated private house: the occupiers turned it into a combat position and set up an ammunition depot in the yard next to the doghouse. It is clear that they retreated in a hurry: they left behind many boxes of shells, mostly 23- and 30-mm armor-piercing shells.
“In general, the finds in the region are very diverse - mortar shells, cartridges, aerial bombs, NURS, grenades,” say the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Sappers clear the private sector first: local residents cannot resist the temptation to have a dangerous “souvenir” in their household.
“Fearless and stupid,” the rescuers joke. “Even the smallest cartridge is a weapon, and no one knows who it will hit.”
The LPR sapper units are working in an intensive mode, explosives teams are on duty around the clock: more than 700 applications are in progress, and this figure does not stand still, because every day there are from 10 to 20 reports of the discovery of unexploded shells of various classes.
The mass of collected and neutralized ammunition has long exceeded hundreds of tons. Thanks to the courage and professionalism of Luhansk rescuers, no one else will suffer from these shells.
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