Russia's invasion of Ukraine has turned the country into the world's largest minefield. The territory contaminated by explosive objects is 250 thousand square kilometers.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal emphasized this in an interview with a South Korean news agency Yonhap.
"Currently, this is the biggest minefield in the world," said the prime minister. "It not only complicates the movement of people, but also causes serious disruptions in agriculture, which is one of our main industries."
He also noted that Kyiv hopes for South Korea's help and experience in demining such a huge territory.
250 thousand square meters km is almost half of the entire area of Ukraine, it is a territory larger than the area of the entire Korean peninsula (221 thousand sq. km).
Commenting on fears that the war is dragging on, Shmyhal stressed the need to maintain sanctions against Russia and provide assistance to Ukraine.
"We are doing everything possible to end the war as soon as possible. For this, the international community must strictly adhere to sanctions against Russia and strengthen them," he said.
He also said that Russia strikes infrastructure in densely populated areas, noting that 70% of the damage is in residential areas.
The Prime Minister predicts that this year the total losses from the war will reach 700 billion US dollars.
"Despite the war, the Ukrainian economy is working. The government pays all salaries and pensions without delay. We are developing grant programs for small and medium-sized businesses," he said.
According to him, 50% of the country's power grids have been damaged by 11 massive airstrikes and 14 waves of drone attacks since October.
"There is not a single power plant that would not be affected by Russian missiles or drones," he said. "Russia's goal is to destroy all the power grids of Ukraine and force our people to flee, exerting psychological pressure on them."
Shmyhal also expressed the position that Ukraine will return the territories captured by Russia.
"We don't know when the war will end, but that, that we will get all our land back, that's for sure," said the prime minister.
