Three years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has become the most heavily mined country globally. An increase in buried ordnance continues as the war persists, and ceasefire negotiations have stalled. A volunteer task force of sappers, embedded with the Ukrainian Association of Humanitarian Demining, works to clear explosives left behind by Russian forces. Key figures include Yaakov, a former entrepreneur and member of the Azov Battalion, and Marina, a staff paramedic. Azov fighters are viewed as national heroes following their defense of Mariupol during the conflict.
Yaakov has been working with UAHD since 2022, when he joined after serving a stint in Ukraine's infamous Azov Battalion, a self-funded volunteer militia formed in 2014 to fight Russian-backed forces in the Donbas war.
Walking carefully on an already cleared trail, we made our way through a forest littered with unexploded shells that could detonate at any moment.
In April 2025, I embedded with the Ukrainian Association of Humanitarian Demining (UAHD) at an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Kyiv's suburb of Irpin, where a volunteer task force of 'sappers' works with local municipalities to clear what Russian soldiers left behind.
After the battalion's defense of Mariupol during Russia's invasion in 2014 and its refusal to surrender to Russian forces for weeks at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works facility, Azov fighters are viewed as national heroes.
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